Martyr!

Literatures of Annihilation, Exile, and Resistance

Available on-demand

Experience the profound beauty of Kaveh Akbar’s Martyr! in this soul-stirring conversation about the ways literature bridges the gaps of exile, turning grief into a vibrant quest for meaning. By examining the mechanics of grief and the architecture of the novel, Akbar demonstrates how literature equips us to navigate modern realities not as passive victims of history, but as active makers of meaning.

This event was recorded on on April 6, 2025.

The “Literatures of Annihilation, Exile, and Resistance” series represents a strategic imperative to foster global dialogue by centering voices from the Middle East and North Africa alongside American writers of color. This framework is essential for confronting the “long afterlife of silence” inherent in displacement. Kaveh Akbar’s debut novel, Martyr!, serves as a masterclass in this synthesis, moving beyond the limitations of the traditional “trauma narrative” to offer a metaphysical exploration of belonging.

Akbar’s primary differentiator is his use of “bewilderment” as a spiritual and creative tool. Drawing on the Sufi prayer, “Lord, increase my bewilderment,” Akbar rejects the “cleanly packaged self” expected by the American imaginary. Instead, his protagonist, Cyrus Shams, inhabits a state of “unbelief and belief” simultaneously. This isn’t a lack of identity, but a rejection of stagnant categories, allowing the character to remain “a wash in the world” while seeking a death—and a life—that possesses actual weight.

The narrative is anchored in the stark geopolitical reality of the 1988 downing of Iran Air Flight 655 by a U.S. missile cruiser. This historical fact, which claimed the life of the protagonist’s mother, serves as the novel’s “animating rage.” Akbar evaluates the “bad symmetry” between the “necro-Islamic” regime of Iran—which hijacked the language of martyrdom to send “human waves” of soldiers to clear landmines—and the “necro-capitalist” tendencies of the United States. He notes how the U.S. utilized the language of “sacrifice” regarding “essential workers” during the COVID-19 pandemic to obfuscate systemic failures. By venerating these workers as martyrs, the state normalized their demise, much like the Iranian regime’s use of murals to celebrate the dead.

This tension extends to the “frontiers of language.” Akbar views English as an “inefficient playground,” a medium of empire that can be “exploded” to find home. He contrasts this with the “thespian” nature of Farsi, where “I miss you” translates to “my heart tightens for you.” Host Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi notes that these “haunted, spectral voices” move through the novel like “shrapnel,” piercing the reader’s consciousness.

Akbar presents art as a “lifeboat” within the reader’s “psychic Sahara.” He references Jorge Luis Borges’s epiphany that scooping sand in the desert “modifies the Sahara,” suggesting that literature indelibly alters our internal topography. Crucially, Akbar adds a layer of cultural critique regarding Borges’s claim that the Quran’s authenticity is proven by its lack of “camels”—noting that there are, in fact, many camels in the Quran. This anecdote highlights the danger of the “tourist gaze” and the importance of true cultural utility. Akbar’s work, punctuated by his literal and figurative “exclamation point,” insists that literature should be both “sweet and useful”—delighting the reader while providing the instruction necessary to survive the interval between two infinities.

The power of this individual voice provides a necessary counter-weight to collective history, proving that the courage to “say yes to life” is the ultimate act of resistance.

The Utility of Bewilderment: Embracing a state of “unbelief and belief” serves as a strategic antidote to the “cleanly packaged self” of the American imaginary. By remaining awed and bewildered, the individual avoids the stagnation of identity and remains open to the “nowness” of experience.
The Symmetry of Necro-Politics: There is a “bad symmetry” between theocratic and capitalist systems that use the language of martyrdom (e.g., “essential workers”) to normalize loss. Recognizing this allows for a more critical evaluation of how language is used to justify systemic harm and obfuscate institutional failure.
Language as a Pliable Material: English, as the language of empire, is not a fixed cage but a “pliable” medium. For the displaced, the act of dominating and manipulating this language is a way to reclaim agency and give shape to the “ghosts” of the mother tongue.
Secular Prayer as Systemic Mindfulness: Mindful actions—from recycling to service—function as “secular prayer.” This practice is not about the theological end-point but about “inviting not me into my head” and “repaying a gift freely given,” reminding the individual of their connection to a system larger than themselves.
The Ongoingness of the Interval: Viewing the human condition as a “bus ride between two infinities” recontextualizes the fear of death. To be “of those who perish” is to join an ongoing collective, shifting the focus from the finality of the end to the courage required to say “yes” to life during the interval.

“I think of Islam as a kind of hyper-unmediated relationship between an individual and their higher power.” — Kaveh Akbar
“I am modifying the Sahara… every book I’ve ever read has modified my psychic Sahara.” — Kaveh Akbar
“Syntax is identity… the way that language moves through us then comes out of us is indelibly inflected by all of our histories.” — Kaveh Akbar (quoting Li-Young Lee)