Palestinian 'National Poet' Dies...

[Nothing1234 2]

Associated Press

August 9, 2008

By DIAA HADID

Palestinian 'National Poet' Dies

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Mahmoud Darwish, whose prose gave voice to the Palestinian experience of exile, occupation and infighting, died on Saturday in Houston. He was 67.

The predominant Palestinian poet, whose work has been translated into more than 20 languages and won numerous international awards, died following open heart surgery at a Houston hospital, said Nabil Abu Rdeneh, a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Born to a large Muslim family in historical Palestine — now modern-day Israel — he emerged as a Palestinian cultural icon eloquently describing his people's struggle for independence while also criticizing both the Israeli occupation and the Palestinian leadership. He gave voice to the Palestinian dreams of statehood, crafted their declaration of independence and helped forge a Palestinian national identity.

"He felt the pulse of Palestinians in beautiful poetry. He was a mirror of the Palestinian society," said Ali Qleibo, a Palestinian anthropologist and lecturer in cultural studies at Al Quds University in Jerusalem.

Darwish first gained prominence in the 1960s with the publication of his first poetry collection, "Bird without Wings." It included the poem "Identity Card" that defiantly spoke in the first person of an Arab man giving his identity number — a common practice among Palestinians when dealing with Israeli authorities and Arab governments — and vowing to return to his land.

Many of his poems have been put into music — most notably "Rita," "Birds of Galilee" and "I yearn for my mother's bread" — and have become anthems for at least two generations of Arabs.

He wrote another 21 collections, the last, "The Impression of Butterflies," in 2008.

Qleibo described Darwish's poetry as "the easy impossible," for Darwish's ability to condense the Palestinian narrative into simple, evocative language — breaking away from the more traditional heavy, emotive and rhythmic verse of other Arab poets.

Darwish wrote the Palestinian Declaration of Independence in 1988, read by the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat when he unilaterally declared statehood. The declaration was symbolic and had no concrete significance.

Darwish's influence was keenly felt among Palestinians, serving as a powerful voice for many.

"He started out as a poet of resistance and then he became a poet of conscience," said Palestinian lawmaker Hanan Ashrawi. "He embodied the best in Palestinians ... even though he became iconic he never lost his sense of humanity. We have lost part of our essence, the essence of the Palestinian being."

Last year, Darwish recited a poem damning the deadly infighting between rival Palestinian groups Hamas and Fatah, describing it as "a public attempt at suicide in the streets."

Darwish was born in the Palestinian village of Birweh near Haifa, which was destroyed in the 1948 Mideast war that led to Israel's independence. He joined the Israeli Communist Party after high school and began writing poems for leftist newspapers.

"When we think of Darwish ... he is our heart, and our tongue," said Issam Makhoul, an Arab lawmaker and veteran member of the Israeli Communist Party.

Darwish left Israel in the early 1970s to study in the former Soviet Union, and from there he traveled to Egypt and Lebanon. He joined the Palestine Liberation Organization, but resigned in 1993 in protest over the interim peace accords that the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat signed with Israel. Darwish moved to the West Bank city of Ramallah in 1996.

His work is widely admired on the Arab and Palestinian street. In Israel, it evokes different feelings.

In 2000, Israel's education minister, Yossi Sarid, suggested including some of Darwish's poems in the Israeli high school curriculum. But Prime Minister Ehud Barak overruled him, saying Israel was not ready yet for his ideas in the school system.

In 1988, a Darwish poem, "Passing in Passing Words," was read by then-Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir inside Israel's parliament as an example of the Palestinians' unwillingness to live alongside Jews. The poem suggested that Darwish called for Jews to leave the region.

Adel Usta, a specialist on Darwish's poetry, said the poem was misunderstood and mistranslated.

"He created a national Palestinian identity that no other poet could achieve," Usta said.

Darwish married and divorced twice. He does not have any children.

Siham Daoud, a fellow poet and longtime friend of Darwish, said he traveled to a hospital in Houston, Texas, ten days ago for the surgery and asked not to be resuscitated if it did not succeed. She said Darwish had a history of heart problems, and had been operated on twice in the past.

Akram Haniyeh, Editor-in-Chief of the Al Ayyam newspaper and a close friend of Darwish, was by Darwish's bedside in Houston. He said Darwish underwent an operation on Wednesday and there were complications.

[~Jackie~ 30]

Yesterday at the ArabFest in Milwaukee, from the stage they read one of his poems, both in Arabic and in English. Then announced his passing.

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

We were so sad when we heard the news yesterday. He was a national treasure.

Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi rajioun. May he rest in peace.

-MK

[Tunisia216 2]

(F)

Darwish laid to rest in Ramallah

By Rachel Shabi

Palestinians have bidden farewell to a national and cultural icon

Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish, regarded as the voice of the Palestinian people and chronicler of their suffering following the creation of Israel, has been buried in Ramallah.

Journalist Rachel Shabi attended the funeral and spoke to Palestinians about how Darwish touched their lives.

The streets of Ramallah were lined with flags and posters quoting Mahmoud Darwish's poetry.

A giant banner bearing his photograph hung over the central square.

Darwish was ever-present as thousands paid their last respects to the beloved national poet.

Not just a globally-acclaimed writer, he is famed for giving an eloquent voice to the Palestinian national struggle.

'Our words, our voice'

Many Palestinians spoke of the loss of much more than a great poet.

"He was our words, our voice," many mourners told me.

Profile

Mahmoud Darwish

The Mahdi Army

Darwish's coffin, strewn with garlands of flowers and draped in the Palestinian flag, was driven through the city's streets following an official ceremony at the Muqataa, the Palestinian Authority headquarters.

The revered poet was bestowed the first state funeral in the West Bank capital since the death of Yasser Arafat, the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) leader, in 2004.

Tens of thousands of people gathered on a hilltop near the Ramallah Cultural Palace, which is to be renamed after the poet and is his final resting place.

His poems resonated over loudspeakers as crowds carried aloft his photos, Palestinian flags and olive branches.

'An amazing person'

Just one month ago many of these people had come to the same place to hear Darwish recite a selection of new poetry which, unknown to him then, was to be his final reading.

The 67-year-old died last week following complications after undergoing open-heart surgery at a hospital in Houston, Texas.

Darwish was given a 21-gun salute. "It is the same as when Arafat died," said 48-year-old Mahmoud Njoum.

"All of our people will remember him as a hero, a big leader as well as a great poet."

Many Palestinians had traveled from Israel to pay their last respects.

"He is one of us, he knew what we feel and how we suffer, an amazing person," said Hajar Abu-Salih, 17, from Sakhnin in Israel’s north.

"I will cry and scream today, because we will miss him so much."

'Moral integrity'

Many Palestinians spoke of losing an icon.

One woman, from Ramallah, described the feeling amongst Palestinians of being "orphaned" by the death of Darwish, repeatedly referred to as their last great leader.

"The most important thing about him is that he maintained an unimpeachable moral integrity, political and intellectual authority," said Adila Laidi-Hanieh, a former director of the Khalil Sakanini Cultural centre, where Darwish worked.

"That was an unparalleled source of legitimacy and elevated his words to a higher plane."

Laidi-Hanieh described Darwish as a quiet, private person, whose daily routine in Ramallah consisted of writing from home and editing the leading Arab literary magazine, al-Karmel, at the Sakanini centre.

"He was very generous with his work," she said of the poet, who was always ready to make time for aspiring writers and those seeking to develop their talent.

"He was extremely encouraging and positive. He always had a definite opinion, but he was always very supportive."

Continuing influence

Some years ago, Darwish was so impressed by the poetry of one teenage girl, which featured in a Palestinian newspaper supplement, that he arranged a meeting with the young writer and her parents.

"I was so happy to know that my poetry was noticed by someone like Mahmoud Darwish," recalls 22-year-old Dalia Taha.

"He didn't instruct me, but told me that it is important to read and contemplate to produce good poetry," she said.

This young generation in the West Bank speak of Darwish with as much reverence as their elders.

"It is the end of a special part of our lives as Palestinians," said 16-year-old Hind Younis, a Ramallah resident. "Today I can’t help feeling a bit lost."

Darwish had moved to Ramallah in 1996, after the Israeli authorities revoked an entry ban on the poet.

But despite the grief in the city, many spoke also of Darwish's legacy and his continuing influence on scores of writers, poets and dramatists.

"He left a path, a model of being a politically committed artist with high artistic and aesthetic integrity – a way of achieving universality," said Adila Laidi-Hanieh.

"Darwish is like our daily bread and water," said 53-year-old Bader Mahlees.

"He is not dead, because he is forever in our hearts."

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

Identity Card

by Mahmoud Darwish

Record !

I am an Arab

And my identity card is number fifty thousand

I have eight children

And the ninth is coming after a summer

Will you be angry?

Record !

I am an Arab

Employed with fellow workers at a quarry

I have eight children

I get them bread

Garments and books

from the rocks...

I do not supplicate charity at your doors

Nor do I belittle myself

at the footsteps of your chamber

So will you be angry?

Record !

I am an Arab

I have a name without a title

Patient in a country

Where people are enraged

My roots

Were entrenched before the birth of time

And before the opening of the eras

Before the pines, and the olive trees

And before the grass grew.

My father...

descends from the family of the plow

Not from a privileged class

And my grandfather...

was a farmer

Neither well-bred, nor well-born!

Teaches me the pride of the sun

Before teaching me how to read

And my house

is like a watchman's hut

Made of branches and cane

Are you satisfied with my status?

I have a name without a title !

Record !

I am an Arab

You have stolen the orchards

of my ancestors

And the land

which I cultivated

Along with my children

And you left nothing for us

Except for these rocks...

So will the State take them

As it has been said?!

Therefore !

Record on the top of the first page:

I do not hate people

Nor do I encroach

But if I become hungry

The usurper's flesh will be my food

Beware...

Beware...

Of my hunger

And my anger !

Edited September 1, 2008 by wife_of_mahmoud