The Centre for the Study of Democracy invites you to the launch of Dr Aidan Hehir's book The Flowers of Srebrenica, featuring displays of David Frankum's illustrations.
The Flowers of Srebrenica is a novel written by Dr Aidan Hehir and illustrated by David Frankum. It describes a journey from the Bosnian capital Sarajevo to the genocide memorial centre at Srebrenica. The novel focuses on the potency of memory and the dilemmas experienced by academics working on atrocity crimes. Though the subject matter is inherently tragic, the book is interspersed with humorous moments and often light-hearted illustrations.
For this free, drop-in event at the Gallery Café on our Regent Street campus, the author and illustrator will give a talk about their work, and a selection of illustrations will be exhibited. All proceeds from book sales at the event will go to charity.
Drinks and nibbles will be provided.
Location
This event takes place at the Gallery Café, 311 Regent Street, London, W1B 2HW.
About the speakers
Dr Aidan Hehir is a Reader in International Relations at the University of Westminster. His research interests include transitional justice, humanitarian intervention, and statebuilding in the Balkans. He is the author/editor of 10 books and Co-Editor of the Routledge Intervention and Statebuilding book series. His plays have been performed in London and Kent, and his poetry has been published in a number of magazines. This is his first non-academic book. He can be contacted on [email protected] or via Twitter: @farcanals.
David Frankum’s illustrations and design work can be found in a variety of publications including books, magazine, comics and album covers. He has also published books, designed posters, provided businesses with designs and created artist’s impressions for architectural companies. David has exhibited his work in renowned galleries and museums, and he is currently the Art Specialist at Luton Primary School.
Endorsements
"Aidan Hehir narrates a road trip that captures with precision the uneasy interaction between even the most sympathetic outsider and those who have survived genocide. From beginning to end, the author never ceases to find wanting the moral disengagement of bystanders, including himself."
– Anna Di Lellio, PhD, Professor of Politics, New York University
"Srebrenica, and what happened there is such a devastatingly huge subject, the scale of it hard to digest. And yet Aidan Hehir draws out the human elements of the story with delicacy, elegance and wit. He finds a way to talk about genocide, trauma and memory, and the marks that such appalling acts leave on communities, with a rare lightness of touch and a poetic sensibility."
– Natasha Tripney, theatre critic and journalist
