Americas

American War by Omar El Akkad

Canadian-Egyptian Author Will Read Extracts from His First Book

July 06th, 2017
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This upcoming Tuesday, July 11th, Canadian-Egyptian author Omar El Akkad will be reading extracts from his book American War, which will be published in German at the end of July. There will be a discussion with the author after the reading. The event is taking place at the Canadian Embassy in Berlin. The event, which is free of charge, will be taking place at the Canadian Embassy and will start at 18.30 on Tuesday, July 11th.

American War is a book which is set in a near-future United States of America ravaged by climate change in which a second Civil War has broken out over the use of fossil fuels. The story, told by Benjamin Chestnut, revolves around his aunt Sarat and is told through narrative chapters interspersed with fictional primary documents collected by the narrator.

Omar El Akkad is a Canadian-Egyptian award-winning journalist who has worked for The Globe and Mail. Recently, he worked there as a correspondent for the Western United States. Moreover, he has reported on the NATO-led war in Afghanistan, the military trials at Guantánamo Bay, the Arab Spring revolution in Egypt and the Black Lives Matter movement in Ferguson, Missouri. American War, which was published on April 4th, 2017, is his first book.

This year, Canada has been celebrating its 150th anniversary as a country. During the year, the country has placed more emphasis on both its cultural diplomacy strategy and the Canadian identity, in all its diversity.

This event is just one of the many events the Canadian Embassy is hosting this year and shows the diverse nature of Canada and its people, with Omar El Akkad being an immigrant from Egypt that moved to Canada.  The exchange of ideas through reading and engaging with readers and writers is important for Cultural Diplomacy and help connect people from different cultures.

References and Links


News from Berlin
R.B. Reijnen, Berlin Global