Terry Anderson reads his poetry

Terry Anderson reads his poetry
from Den of Lions: Memoirs of Seven Years

Terry Anderson was a journalist for the Associated Press when he was captured and held captive in Beirut, Lebanon by Hezbollah Shiite Muslims. He was a hostage from 1985-1991.

Terry Anderson

Terry Anderson at his desk at the
E.W. Scripps School of Journalism,
Ohio University

Poems from Den of Lions
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Text of the poems from Den of Lions

Stigmata I

Wait for Me
by Konstantin Simonov

I'm Not Here Most Days

Growing Things

Satan

Stimata X

Read what others have written about Terry Anderson's memoirs,
DEN OF LIONS:

"Unforgettable...The book's pages sometimes tear at the reader's own heart." - ASSOCIATED PRESS

"Most noteworthy... [An] extremely important document, offering readers and unflinching look inside the cell of Lebanon."
- THE NEW YORKER

"Belongs on the shelf of classics about surviving degradation with dignity and even humor." - TIME

"Forceful, poignant and often painful... [A] profile in integrity, humility and the self-knowledge that comes only after a great ordeal."
- CHICAGO TRIBUNE

Jacket copy from the Ballantine edition of Den of Lions:

"In March 1985, Terry Anderson was a good man swept up in the violent conflicts of a turbulent era. At the mercy of Shiite captors for nearly seven years, he lived in chains, wondering fearfully if each day would be the one he'd be released - or killed. Imprisoned and beaten like an animal, he was tortured by grief, by fatigue, by hopelessness. But his spirit soared beyond captivity, and he never gave up. Nor did those who loved him - his sister, his fiancee, his daughter, his close friends and colleagues. Now he's returned with a harrowing and poignant story of survival, as well as new revelations about what was really happening behind the scenes in the Middle East - the events that plunged Anderson and his fellow hostages into days, weeks, and, unthinkably, years of darkness."

***

Terry Anderson received a B.A. in journalism and political science from Iowa State University and began his professional career as a reporter for KRNT Radio and KCCI TV in Des Moines. He later served as news editor for the Ypsilanti Post in Michigan and as combat correspondent for the U.S. Marines. Terry Anderson held the posts of state editor, foreign desk editor, broadcast editor, Tokyo correspondent, Middle East news editor, and chief Middle East correspondent for the Associated Press.

Taken hostage in Beirut, Lebanon in 1985 during the bloody Lebanese civil war, Terry Anderson was imprisoned in secret locations for nearly seven years. He wrote the Den of Lions poems during these years.

Terry Anderson has co-authored Den of Lions: Memoirs of Seven Years and the CNN documentary Return to the Den of Lions. He has received the Free Spirit Award from the Freedom Forum Foundation, the Carr Van Anda Award from Ohio University, and numerous awards for journalism and community service. He has been an Iowa Fellow and a Residential Fellow of the Freedom Forum Media Studies Center. He has served on the faculty of Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and is currently a Scripps Visiting Professional at the E. W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University.

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Terry Anderson reads his poetry from Den of Lions: Memoirs of Seven Years

Terry Anderson reads his poetry
from Den of Lions: Memoirs of Seven Years