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116:, the son of a factory worker and a postman, and enlisted in the U.S. Army at the age of seventeen. He attended James River High School. Six years later, in 2004, he served a one-year tour in Iraq as a machine gunner assigned to an engineer unit. Powers served in Mosul and Tal Afar, Iraq, from February 2004 to March 2005. After his honorable discharge, Powers enrolled in
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newspaper why he wrote the book: "One of the reasons that I wrote this book was the idea that people kept saying: 'What was it like over there?' It seemed that it was not an information-based problem. There was lots of information around. But what people really wanted was to know what it felt like;
195:, it's the best thing I've read about the war in Iraq, and by far the best novel. Powers is a poet first, so the book is spare, incredibly precise, unimproveable. And it's easily the saddest book I've read in many years. But sad in an important way."
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are better than the whole. Some chapters lack sufficient power, others labor under the influence of classic war stories, rather than arising organically from the author's unique vision." Michael Larson of
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and a metaphysical parable about the loss of innocence and the uses of memory, it's a novel that will stand with Tim O'Brien's enduring
Vietnam book,
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by Kevin Powers. The author fought in Iraq with the US army, and then, many years later, this gorgeous novel emerged. Next to
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233:... a trainwreck, from the first inept and imprecise simile, to the tin-eared rhythms, to the final incoherent thought."
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183:: "There are a bunch of books I could mention, but the book I find myself pushing on people more than any other is
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150:, subsequently named the novel one of her 10 favorite books of 2012. Wrote Kakutani: "At once a freshly imagined
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430:"Kevin Powers, The Yellow Birds - National Book Award Fiction Finalist, The National Book Foundation"
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566:"'The Yellow Birds,' a Novel of Grit, Grace and Blood by an Iraq War Veteran."
225:... There's never a sky not worthy of a few adjectives." And Theo Tait of the
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argued that the book "labours under the weight of a massive
Hemingway crush
508:"Emerging wave of Iraq fiction examines America's role in 'bullshit war'"
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physically, emotionally and psychologically. So that's why I wrote it."
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536:"Dave Eggers: 'We tend to look everywhere but the mirror' – interview"
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395:"The Yellow Birds by Kevin Powers wins Guardian First Book Award"
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647:"Guardian first book award 2012 goes to Kevin Powers"
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Letters
Composed During a Lull in the Fighting: Poems
22:(born 1980) is an American fiction writer, poet, and
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221:argues that the book is ruined by "boggy lyricism
584:"Stop Giving War-Veteran Novelists a Free Pass."
674:"National Book Award Finalists Announced Today"
482:"Michiko Kakutani's 10 Favorite Books of 2012'"
355:, New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2018.
236:The book has been adapted on screen in 2017,
160:, as a classic of contemporary war fiction."
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349:, New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2014.
293:Flaherty-Dunnan First Novel Prize Short List
788:Military personnel from Richmond, Virginia
173:Asked about the best book of 2012, writer
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419:BBC Radio 4, Front Row, 7 September 2012
818:Virginia Commonwealth University alumni
480:Kakutani, Michiko (December 17, 2012).
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315:, co-winner, fiction "The Yellow Birds"
783:Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award winners
45:Powers at the 2023 Texas Book Festival
582:Larson, Michael (December 11, 2021).
198:Not all critics were so laudatory of
163:In an interview, Powers explained to
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534:Day, Elizabeth (January 26, 2013).
448:"A poet borne from war « Know"
813:Michener Center for Writers alumni
803:21st-century American male writers
682:. October 10, 2012. Archived from
376:, Little, Brown and Company, 2023.
212:wrote that "frankly, the parts of
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645:Alison Flood (29 November 2012).
506:Harris, Paul (January 3, 2013).
469:New York Times, 6 September 2012
328:, New York: Little, Brown 2012.
118:Virginia Commonwealth University
793:Writers from Richmond, Virginia
773:21st-century American novelists
303:Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award
112:Powers was born and raised in
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634:The Guardian, 8 November 2012
609:. Vol. 35, no. 01.
353:A Shout in the Ruins: a novel
16:American novelist (born 1980)
591:. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
573:. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
54:1980 (age 43–44)
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601:Tait, Theo (2013-01-03).
326:The Yellow Birds: a novel
313:Anisfield-Wolf Book Award
273:Guardian First Book Award
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710:www.centerforfiction.org
706:"The Center for Fiction"
808:Novelists from Virginia
778:American male novelists
157:The Things They Carried
607:London Review of Books
564:(September 25, 2012).
227:London Review of Books
603:"The Hemingway Crush"
285:(Fiction), finalist,
130:Powers's first novel
686:on December 6, 2012
570:The Washington Post
401:. November 30, 2012
283:National Book Award
209:The Washington Post
726:anisfield-wolf.org
486:The New York Times
374:A Line in the Sand
147:The New York Times
144:, book critic for
114:Richmond, Virginia
57:Richmond, Virginia
266:Awards and honors
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242:was directed by
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142:Michiko Kakutani
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125:The Yellow Birds
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652:The Guardian
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562:Charles, Ron
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545:. Retrieved
541:The Observer
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517:. Retrieved
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491:December 21,
489:. Retrieved
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456:the original
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405:December 22,
403:. Retrieved
399:The Guardian
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256:Tye Sheridan
246:and starred
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180:The Observer
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87:2012–present
33:Kevin Powers
20:Kevin Powers
19:
18:
798:1980 births
749:Appearances
658:December 2,
547:January 26,
248:Jack Huston
204:Ron Charles
202:, however.
175:Dave Eggers
762:Categories
620:2023-11-08
519:January 3,
381:References
369:1032828797
342:1028435492
305:, winner,
275:, winner,
64:Occupation
615:0260-9592
108:Biography
26:veteran.
100:Iraq War
70:Novelist
24:Iraq War
76:soldier
753:C-SPAN
613:
367:
359:
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311:2013,
301:2013,
291:2012,
281:2012,
271:2012,
231:
223:
84:Period
588:Salon
320:Works
219:Salon
92:Genre
692:2012
660:2012
611:ISSN
549:2013
521:2013
493:2012
407:2012
365:OCLC
357:ISBN
338:OCLC
330:ISBN
258:and
73:poet
59:, US
51:Born
751:on
206:of
191:by
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
