On Mahmoud Darwish Day, 13 Poems

via the always excellent ArabLit (Arabic Literature and Translation): The towering, generation-defining Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish (1941-2008) was born on this day in al-Birwa. To commemorate his entrance into our world on a March 13, we have excerpts from 13 poems and poemtexts. Follow the links for the more complete works: 1) “The Moon Did Not Fall Into the Well,” from Journal of an Ordinary Grief, tr. Ibrahim Muhawi Muhawi’s translations … Read more On Mahmoud Darwish Day, 13 Poems

On Mahmoud Darwish’s Birthday, 13 Poems

via Arab Lit (in English) & the indefatigable Marcia Lynx Qualey: The Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish (d. 2008) was born in al-Birwa on this day in 1941. To commemorate his entrance into our world on March 13, ArabLit has 13 poems (and poemish texts): 1) “The Moon Did Not Fall Into the Well,” from Journal of an Ordinary Grief, tr. Ibrahim Muhawi Muhawi’s translations have a wonderful sense of the rhythm … Read more On Mahmoud Darwish’s Birthday, 13 Poems

Mahmoud Darwish’s “Identity Card” on the Anniversary of his Death

Mahmoud Darwish: photo by Dar Al Hayat, n.d.; image edit by AnomalousNYC, 11 August 2008 Put it on record. ……..I am an Arab And the number of my card is fifty thousand I have eight children And the ninth is due after summer. What’s there to be angry about?Put it on record. I am an Arab Working with comrades of toil in a quarry. I have eight children … Read more Mahmoud Darwish’s “Identity Card” on the Anniversary of his Death

A Visit to Mahmoud Darwish’s Grave

On a recent trip to Ramallah, we went to pay homage at Mahmood Darwish’s grave. It is no doubt the most amazing poet’s grave (plus museum) I’ve visited — fascinating to see the existence of Palestine defined & buttressed by a poet’s tomb. Some fifty young high school girls were visiting at the same time — cheerful, chattering, awe-struck yet playful. The museum was breathtaking — from the recreation of Darwish’s … Read more A Visit to Mahmoud Darwish’s Grave

Mahmoud Darwish, born on this day…

… in 1941., as lynxqualey reminds us on Arab Literature (in English), going on to note that: Eleven cities around Italy are remembering his work today, keeping it in the light, and (virtually) we join them. & then quotes “from Ibrahim Muhawi’s wonderful translation of Darwish’s Journal of an Ordinary Grief: Tonight is your birthday: the thirteenth of March. And you want an occasion to wrest a deceptive happiness from the grim … Read more Mahmoud Darwish, born on this day…

Sinan Antoon’s Darwish Translation Gets ALTA Award

Via Arabic Literature (in English) blog: Antoon Wins 2012 National Translation Award for ‘In the Presence of Absence’ Posted on October 7, 2012 by mlynxqualey | Leave a comment On Friday, the American Literary Translators Association (ALTA) announced that it had honored two poet-translators, Sinan Antoon and Don Mee Choi: Sinan Antoon received the 2012 National Translation Award for his translation of Mahmoud Darwish’s In the Presence of Absence. According to ALTA, “The $5,000 prize is given annually … Read more Sinan Antoon’s Darwish Translation Gets ALTA Award

Darwish: Journal of an Ordinary Grief

Archipelago Books has just published a book of linked autobiographical essays — first published in Beirut in 1973 — by the great Palestinian poet Mahmood Darwish, titled Journal of an Ordinary Grief, excellently translated from Arabic by Ibrahim Muhawi. What Edward Said wrote about Darwish’s poetry — that it is “an epic effort to transform the lyrics of loss into the indefinitely postponed drama od return” — is just … Read more Darwish: Journal of an Ordinary Grief

Gaza: Between the Fence & a Hard Place

Yesterday I was reading the forthcoming translation of Mahmoud Darwish‘s first — 1973 — collection of prose essays on Palestine. This is an extremely moving book, and I will come back to it when it is published in the late fall. In one of the pieces, called “Silence for the Sake of Gaza,” written nearly forty years ago, we read: “It would be unfair to turn Gaza into a … Read more Gaza: Between the Fence & a Hard Place

George Fragopoulos On Mahmoud Darwish

One of the better essays on the work of Mahmoud Darwish in this country was recently published in The Quarterly Conversation on-line magazine. I am reproducing a section of the essay below; you can read the full essay here. Tracing Mahmoud Darwish’s Map Essay by George Fragopoulos — Published on December 7, 2009 • more articles by this author • more articles about this publisher • Read more about: … Read more George Fragopoulos On Mahmoud Darwish

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