Literature & Poetry:

Palestine Writes is the only North American literature festival dedicated to celebrating and promoting cultural productions of Palestinian writers and artists. Born from the pervasive exclusion from or tokenization of Palestinian voices in mainstream literary institutions, Palestine Writes brings Palestinian cultural workers from all parts of Historic Palestine and our exiled Diaspora together with peers from other marginalized groups in the United States. Crossing multiple borders—geographic, linguistic, and cultural boundaries—writers, artists, publishers, booksellers, scholars, musicians, and thinkers hold conversations about art, literature, and the intersections between culture and power, struggle, politics, climate change, sexuality, human rights, animal rights, food sovereignty, and more. The festival boasts panel discussions, workshops, music, children’s programming, networking, readings, dance, theatre, cooking, oral storytelling, cooking, and other creative expressions of culture.
Palestinians are an ancient indigenous people from a fabled and tortured land. No matter who holds the guns and power over our homeland, our nation is deeply rooted in its soil, which cradles our collective memory, as it does the bones of our ancestors. All of our traditions, our stories, folklore, poetry, culinary forms, superstitions, traditional clothing, architecture, art, and cultural habits were born in that singular patch of earth over the span of millennia. Palestine Writes exists as an artistic and literary space to hold dear and celebrate and share the magnificence of Palestine’s indigenous heritage, particularly as powerful forces work tirelessly to erase us. Palestine Writes showcases brilliant voices from our long-suffering people, devoted to the belief that art challenges repression and creates bonds between Palestine and the rest of the world. ─ « Visualizing Palestine: A Place of Many Beginnings. »

While Palestinian and Arab poets once likened the Fall of Granada to the loss of Palestine, a newer generation is recasting "al-Andalus" as the Palestine yet to come. ─ In 1992, just after Palestinian Liberation Organization officials shook hands with Israeli representatives in Madrid, paving the way to Oslo, Mahmoud Darwish would publish his series of poems, Eleven Planets in the Last Andalusian Sky...

The late poet and politician Tawfiq Zayyad riled the Israeli public and believed in the Oslo Accords. 'The Optimist' by Tamir Sorek, now available in Hebrew, paints a picture of a man who balanced pragmatism and revolutionary zeal.

Peut-on s’emparer de l’hébreu pour dépasser le sionisme, et peut-on être israélien sans être juif ? Bilan de ces écrivains palestiniens qui s’y sont essayé.

Dans le monde arabe, la poésie est considérée comme l'une des plus éminentes formes d'art et le patrimoine poétique remonte à l’ère pré-islamique et aux odes épiques d'Imru al-Qais et Antarah ibn Shaddad. La poésie continue d'occuper une place centrale dans les sociétés arabes et pour de nombreux enfants qui grandissent dans la région, l’étude de l’arabe est associée à celle de la poésie classique.

In a new book, journalist Danny Rubinstein looks at life of Palestinian author Ghassan Kanafani, a voice for the refugees who was assassinated – most likely by Israel – for his role in the Lod Airport massacre.

Susan Abulhawa reviews Mohammad el-Kurd's stunning debut poetry collection. "Letting my eyes sweep over lines just once wasn’t nearly enough to take in the unbearable beauty of this book."