wafaa bilal

"Domestic Tension," the performance piece Bilal discusses here, received extensive international and national media attention in at least 138 countries. High profile coverage included CNN, The Washington Post, Newsweek, NPR, the Chicago Tribune and elsewhere. As a result, there should be a considerable readership for the book, who will be thrilled to learn more about Bilal's life and the background on his artwork. There are obviously scores of recent books on Iraq. While the bulk of popular titles are written by academics, historians, military members or prominent Iraqi strategists, there are few personal accounts of life in Iraq, and those that exist focus mostly on the plight of women, like Jean Sasson's 2004 "Mayada: Daughter of Iraq." Bilal's story adds an under-represented point of view. He has much to say about oppression under Saddam having been jailed and tortured for his opposition to the Baathist regime. The widespread interest in the graphic novel and film "Persepolis" by Iranian Marjane Satrapi bodes well for "Shoot an Iraqi." "Persepolis" success shows the public hunger for insight into the Middle East from independent-minded, culturally hip expatriates like Bilal and Satrapi.