Papa Drew a Thousand Birds A Memoir

A polyphonous graphic novel memoir from father and daughter about a boy’s flight and return to war-torn Afghanistan—as well as a fresh retelling of the epic Persian poem The Conference of the Birds.

Ahmadjan dreams of becoming an artist, but finds few opportunities in tumultuous Afghanistan. So he leaves ... and thus begins a colorful, zigzagging path that is not just a powerful meditation on art, war, and the meaning of life—as well as a stunning collection of a myriad of different illustration forms—but a singular retelling of the legendary Persian epic The Conference of the Birds. 

By the end of Papa Drew a Thousand Birds, you realize Ahmadjan and his daughter Maren are telling this story together, and their birds have flown their way into your heart.

Maren Amini is a comic artist, illustrator, and cartoonist whose work lies at the intersection of journalism, literature, and organization. Humor is her primary means of communication as she feels laughter is more important today than ever. Maren lightens heavy things—through comics, cartoons, and illustration. After earning a degree in illustration and communication design, she worked freelance for publications including The Washington Post, Der Spiegel, and Die Zeit. Papa Drew a Thousand Birds, her debut graphic novel about her father's life between Afghanistan and Germany, received the German Comic Book Prize and the Special Prize for New Talents at the German Children’s Literature Awards. Maren lives in Hamburg, Germany.

Ahmadjan Amini was born in 1953 in Afghantistan’s Panjshir Valley. After his studies at the Afghan Institute of Technology in Kabul, he moved to Europe in the early 1970s to pursue his childhood dream of becoming an artist. Following a return to Afghanistan, and subsequently being forced to flee from the civil war and Soviet invasion, he made Hamburg, Germany, his adopted home. By the late 1980s, Amini completed his studies at the Institute for Computer Graphic Design in Hamburg. Amini’s paintings are marked by war, exile, and loss and are deeply intertwined with the history and political situation of his homeland. His color palette ranges from earthy browns and ochees to intense blues, representing memory and hope. The proud father of six children, he has remained consistently active as an artist and featured in numerous exhibitions and art festivals internationally. His collaboration with his daughter Maren on Papa Drew a Thousand Birds, this graphic novel about his life, received the German Comic Book Prize and the Special Prize for New Talents at the German Children’s Literature Awards.

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