This Part of the World

by Samuel Hazo

Premier Caseres rules his country with a ruthlessness that puts him in the elite category of Truijillo, Mugabe, and Kim Jong Il. A potent orator with a martinet style of leadership, Caseres’s ability to instil fear and reverence in his people has secured his place in power. However, the dictator’s human frailties run as deep as his stoicism. He is plagued with a heart condition that keeps him popping "pills like pistachios" and a son and heir to his leadership who has a taste for fast cars and little else. Finally, his devotion to Magdalena, his mistress, threatens to disrupt his unchallenged autocracy.
This Part of the World traces a new path into the heart of darkness. Samuel Hazo offers the reader an intrepid portrait of conscience, charisma, and the slow corruption of the human spirit. Hazo writes with a steely clarity and sharp satirical edge, bringing to life his tragic subject and illuminating the fate of a nation.

(From Publisher).

Samuel Hazo is the founder, director, and president of the International Poetry Forum in Pittsburgh and McAnulty Distinguished Professor of English Emeritus at Duquesne University. His latest works include A Flight to Elsewhere and The Song of the Horse (poetry), The Power of Less: Poetry and Public Speech (essays), and the novel Stills, published by Syracuse University Press.