Riverbend, the young Iraqi maintaining Baghdad Burning on my blogroll, is among 19 writers nominated for the prestigious Samuel Johnson Prize for contemporary non-fiction. In an interview published today, she tells Al Jazeera that she thought another blogger had been nominated, until she found hundreds of congratulatory messages in her emailbox.
Baghdad Burning, a collection of her blog posts, was published in the UK last year by Marion Boyars Publishing and in the States by Feminist Press. It was later nominated to the “longlist” of the Johnson prize, which the BBC Four TV channel awards each year. The winner, to be announced June 14, receives £30,000, or about $52,000.
In her interview, Riverbend, who prefers to remain anonymous to protect her and her family’s safety, explained what inspires her to maintain her blog:
Iraq inspires me to blog. While I began blogging as a way to vent frustrations and fears about the instability and insecurity, I continue because I feel the media covers the situation in my country in a very general way.
Many articles don’t even begin to touch the daily reality Iraqis face.
Which is why I, and many others, read her posts. They are frank, informative and eloquent. Riverbend offers a perspective rarely if ever seen in the mainstream press. Those of us who have never lived in an occupied country need to understand what it is like.
Later in the interview, Riverbend admits that, while she is well read, she never knew she could write until she started blogging three years ago. She manages to keep the blog active, despite periodic power outages.
She has pretty some stiff competition for the prize, so her winning is by no means a sure bet. The fact that she is on the list at all is in honor in itself, though. If you don’t read her book, check out her blog — the address is on my blogroll — you won’t regret it.
BOOK: Baghdad Burning : Girl Blog from Iraq
BOOK: Baghdad Burning II : Girl Blog from Iraq (Women Writing the Middle East)
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