‘Literature saves lives’ Fast Favourites with Behrouz Boochani

“It is a cliche to say literature saves lives,” Behrouz Boochani has written, “but I experienced it with my whole being.” Behrouz Boochani is a Kurdish journalist, human rights defender, writer and film producer who came to international attention after his memoir, No Friend But the Mountains: Writing from Manus Prison won the 2019 Victorian Prize for Literature and the prize for non-fiction in Australia. He wrote it on Whatsapp while held in an Australian-run detention centre in Papua New Guinea.