Moez Surani: Poet traces the history of UN violence | Toronto Star

A 134-page poem by Moez Surani lists 61 years of UN military code names to collectively build the case against language.

Thor. Ottawa. Sea Breeze. Haircut. The words in Operation, a book-length poem by Toronto’s Moez Surani, have little in common, except that each word was the codename of a UN member nation’s military operation.

The title of the 134-page poem repeats the word Operation in all six official languages of the UN. It is an unflinching list of 61 years of military code names used by the 193 UN member nations.

“This poem is about language at its most maximally debased,” Surani, 37, says over an espresso at Little Italy’s Café Diplomatico. “A lot of euphemisms. A lot of misleading symbols.”

Read more at the source: By Ryan Porter for Toronto Star

 

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