Since the Taliban left Kabul the focus in the capital has been on newspaper and magazine production and poems about the experiences of the past 20 years proliferate. New books in the style of the epic stories and in the great literary tradition of the past are few. Today, people are more interested in reading the books about peace and the reconstruction of Afghanistan, politics and the Taliban. As there was no way to express freedom during this last regime, most of the writers who had something to publish are now looking for funds to print their manuscripts. Authors not only have to pay for their books to be printed but must also promote and sell their books. Today few writers in Afghanistan have the time or funding for such an endeavour.

Two important books about Afghanistan’s writers and poets written in Dari are ‘From Mahmud E Tarzi to Vasef Bakhtari’ and ‘From Yesterday to Today: Afghanistan’s Refugee Poets’, written by Iranian author Jangez Pahlavan.