Human rights fiction and poetry

And what has art and literature to do with human rights? They are all bound up with this wonderful talent we humans have: to empathise with others. If, by reading...we are enabled to step, for one moment, into another person's shoes, to get right under their skin, then that is already a great achievement. Through empathy we overcome prejudice, develop tolerance and ultimately understand love. Stories can bring understanding, healing, reconciliation and unity.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu

The power of human rights within fiction and poetry cannot be underestimated. From timeless novels such as Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, with its themes of race and social divisions, to the contemporary examination of humanity's replicated android self in Philip K Dick's sci-fi classic Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, good fiction can engage our imaginations and affect our perception of the world around us.

These titles encourage the reader to let go of preconceptions and explore through the art of poetry and storytelling exactly what is meant by the phrase 'human rights'.

Before we say Goodbye

Gabriella Ambrosio
Inspired by an actual suicide bombing, this extraordinary novel tells the story of two teenage girls, one Palestinian, one Israeli. One is a suicide bomber; the other her victim.

Fire in the Soul

Edited by Dinyar Godrej
Supporting Amnesty International, this is a rousing collection of poems by an international array of poet, mixing well-known names with relative newcomers. They are as much about assertiveness and hope as they are about injustice and the outrages that scar human history.

POEMS FROM GUANTANAMO

Edited by Marc Falkoff
A collection of 22 poems by 17 detainees which gives voice to the men held in the US detention centre at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba

Sufism

Edited by Bruce Wannell
A book of mystical poetry and prose from Sufi writers, aimed at both Muslims and non-Muslims.

Freedom

Author: Various - see below for content
A landmark collection of short stories to mark 60 years of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Some of the world's very best writers have written stories, each inspired by one of our human rights. Suitable for 16+