Palestinian literature
Encyclopedia
Palestinian literature refers to the Arabic language
novels, short stories and poems produced by Palestinians
. Forming part of the broader genre of Arabic literature
, contemporary Palestinian literature is often characterized by its heightened sense of irony
and the exploration of existential themes and issues of identity. References to the subjects of resistance to occupation, exile
, loss, and love and longing for homeland
are also common.
al, rather than territorial. While Egyptian literature is that written in Egypt
, Jordanian
literature is that written in Jordan
etc., and up until to the 1948 Arab-Israeli war
, Palestinian literature was also territory-bound, since the 1948 Palestinian exodus
it has become "a literature written by Palestinians" (ibid., p. 9) irrespective of their place of residence.
Since 1967, most critics have theorized the existence of three "branches" of Palestinian literature, loosely divided by geographic location: 1) from inside Israel, 2) from the occupied territories
, 3) from among the Palestinian diaspora
throughout the Middle East
.
Hannah Amit-Kochavi recognizes only two branches: that written by Palestinians from inside the State of Israel as distinct from that written outside (ibid., p. 11). She also posits a temporal distinction between literature produced before 1948 and that produced thereafter. In a 2003 article published in the Studies in the Humanities journal, Steven Salaita posits a fourth branch made up of English language
works, particularly those written by Palestinians in the United States
, which he defines as "writing rooted in diasporic countries but focused in theme and content on Palestine
."
Palestinian literature can be intensely political, as underlined by writers like Salma Khadra Jayyusi and novelist Liana Badr, who have mentioned the need to give expression to the Palestinian "collective identity" and the "just case" of their struggle. There is also resistance to this school of thought, whereby Palestinian artists have "rebelled" against the demand that their art be "committed". Poet Mourid Barghouti
for example, has often said that "poetry is not a civil servant, it's not a soldier, it's in nobody's employ." Rula Jebreal's novel Miral
tells the story of Hind Husseini's effort to establish an orphanage
in Jerusalem after the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, the Deir Yassin Massacre
, and the establishment of the state of Israel
.
forms, remains an extremely popular art form, often attracting Palestinian audiences in the thousands. Until 20 years ago, local folk bard
s reciting traditional verses were a feature of every Palestinian town.
After the 1948 Palestinian exodus
, poetry was transformed into a vehicle for political activism. From among those Palestinians who became Arab citizens of Israel
and after the passage of the Citizenship Law of 1952
, a school of resistance poetry was born that included poets like Mahmoud Darwish
, Samih al-Qasim
, and Tawfiq Zayyad.
The work of these poets was largely unknown to the wider Arab world for years because of the lack of diplomatic relations between Israel and Arab governments. The situation changed after Ghassan Kanafani
, another Palestinian writer in exile in Lebanon
published an anthology
of their work in 1966.
Palestinian poets often write about the common theme of a strong affection and sense of loss and longing for a lost homeland.
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
novels, short stories and poems produced by Palestinians
Palestinian people
The Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...
. Forming part of the broader genre of Arabic literature
Arabic literature
Arabic literature is the writing produced, both prose and poetry, by writers in the Arabic language. The Arabic word used for literature is adab which is derived from a meaning of etiquette, and implies politeness, culture and enrichment....
, contemporary Palestinian literature is often characterized by its heightened sense of irony
Irony
Irony is a rhetorical device, literary technique, or situation in which there is a sharp incongruity or discordance that goes beyond the simple and evident intention of words or actions...
and the exploration of existential themes and issues of identity. References to the subjects of resistance to occupation, exile
Exile
Exile means to be away from one's home , while either being explicitly refused permission to return and/or being threatened with imprisonment or death upon return...
, loss, and love and longing for homeland
Homeland
A homeland is the concept of the place to which an ethnic group holds a long history and a deep cultural association with —the country in which a particular national identity began. As a common noun, it simply connotes the country of one's origin...
are also common.
Overview
Palestinian literature is one of numerous Arabic literatures, but its affiliation is nationNation
A nation may refer to a community of people who share a common language, culture, ethnicity, descent, and/or history. In this definition, a nation has no physical borders. However, it can also refer to people who share a common territory and government irrespective of their ethnic make-up...
al, rather than territorial. While Egyptian literature is that written in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, Jordanian
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
literature is that written in Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
etc., and up until to the 1948 Arab-Israeli war
1948 Arab-Israeli War
The 1948 Arab–Israeli War, known to Israelis as the War of Independence or War of Liberation The war commenced after the termination of the British Mandate for Palestine and the creation of an independent Israel at midnight on 14 May 1948 when, following a period of civil war, Arab armies invaded...
, Palestinian literature was also territory-bound, since the 1948 Palestinian exodus
1948 Palestinian exodus
The 1948 Palestinian exodus , also known as the Nakba , occurred when approximately 711,000 to 725,000 Palestinian Arabs left, fled or were expelled from their homes, during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and the Civil War that preceded it. The exact number of refugees is a matter of dispute...
it has become "a literature written by Palestinians" (ibid., p. 9) irrespective of their place of residence.
Since 1967, most critics have theorized the existence of three "branches" of Palestinian literature, loosely divided by geographic location: 1) from inside Israel, 2) from the occupied territories
Israeli-occupied territories
The Israeli-occupied territories are the territories which have been designated as occupied territory by the United Nations and other international organizations, governments and others to refer to the territory seized by Israel during the Six-Day War of 1967 from Egypt, Jordan, and Syria...
, 3) from among the Palestinian diaspora
Palestinian diaspora
Palestinian diaspora is a term used to describe Palestinians living outside of historic Palestine - an area today known as Israel and the Palestinian territories or the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip...
throughout the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
.
Hannah Amit-Kochavi recognizes only two branches: that written by Palestinians from inside the State of Israel as distinct from that written outside (ibid., p. 11). She also posits a temporal distinction between literature produced before 1948 and that produced thereafter. In a 2003 article published in the Studies in the Humanities journal, Steven Salaita posits a fourth branch made up of English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
works, particularly those written by Palestinians in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, which he defines as "writing rooted in diasporic countries but focused in theme and content on Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
."
Palestinian literature can be intensely political, as underlined by writers like Salma Khadra Jayyusi and novelist Liana Badr, who have mentioned the need to give expression to the Palestinian "collective identity" and the "just case" of their struggle. There is also resistance to this school of thought, whereby Palestinian artists have "rebelled" against the demand that their art be "committed". Poet Mourid Barghouti
Mourid Barghouti
Mourid Barghouti or Mureed Barghouti or Murid Barguti or Murid Barghuti is a Palestinian poet and writer....
for example, has often said that "poetry is not a civil servant, it's not a soldier, it's in nobody's employ." Rula Jebreal's novel Miral
Miral
Miral is a 2010 biographical political film directed by Julian Schnabel. The screenplay was written by Rula Jebreal, based on her novel. The film was released on 3 September at the 2010 Venice Film Festival and on 15 September 2010 in France. The film was set for release on 3 December 2010 in the...
tells the story of Hind Husseini's effort to establish an orphanage
Orphanage
An orphanage is a residential institution devoted to the care of orphans – children whose parents are deceased or otherwise unable or unwilling to care for them...
in Jerusalem after the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, the Deir Yassin Massacre
Deir Yassin massacre
The Deir Yassin massacre took place on April 9, 1948, when around 120 fighters from the Irgun Zevai Leumi and Lohamei Herut Israel Zionist paramilitary groups attacked Deir Yassin near Jerusalem, a Palestinian-Arab village of roughly 600 people...
, and the establishment of the state of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
.
Poetry
Poetry, using classic pre-IslamicPre-Islamic Arabia
Pre-Islamic Arabia refers to the Arabic civilization which existed in the Arabian Plate before the rise of Islam in the 630s. The study of Pre-Islamic Arabia is important to Islamic studies as it provides the context for the development of Islam.-Studies:...
forms, remains an extremely popular art form, often attracting Palestinian audiences in the thousands. Until 20 years ago, local folk bard
Bard
In medieval Gaelic and British culture a bard was a professional poet, employed by a patron, such as a monarch or nobleman, to commemorate the patron's ancestors and to praise the patron's own activities.Originally a specific class of poet, contrasting with another class known as fili in Ireland...
s reciting traditional verses were a feature of every Palestinian town.
After the 1948 Palestinian exodus
1948 Palestinian exodus
The 1948 Palestinian exodus , also known as the Nakba , occurred when approximately 711,000 to 725,000 Palestinian Arabs left, fled or were expelled from their homes, during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and the Civil War that preceded it. The exact number of refugees is a matter of dispute...
, poetry was transformed into a vehicle for political activism. From among those Palestinians who became Arab citizens of Israel
Arab citizens of Israel
Arab citizens of Israel refers to citizens of Israel who are not Jewish, and whose cultural and linguistic heritage or ethnic identity is Arab....
and after the passage of the Citizenship Law of 1952
Israeli nationality law
Israel's nationality law defines the terms through which one can be granted citizenship of the state of Israel. It also includes the Right of return for Jewish diaspora...
, a school of resistance poetry was born that included poets like Mahmoud Darwish
Mahmoud Darwish
Mahmoud Darwish was a Palestinian poet and author who won numerous awards for his literary output and was regarded as the Palestinian national poet...
, Samih al-Qasim
Samih al-Qasim
Samīħ al-Qāsim Samīħ al-Qāsim Samīħ al-Qāsim ( is an Israeli Druze whose Arabic poetry is well-known throughout Arab World. His poetry is influenced by two primary periods of his life: Before and after the Six-Day War. He joined the Communist Hadash political party in 1967...
, and Tawfiq Zayyad.
The work of these poets was largely unknown to the wider Arab world for years because of the lack of diplomatic relations between Israel and Arab governments. The situation changed after Ghassan Kanafani
Ghassan Kanafani
Ghassan Kanafani was a Palestinian writer and a leading member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. He was assassinated by car bomb in Beirut, allegedly by the Mossad.- Early years :Ghassan Fayiz Kanafani was born in 1936 in the then Acre , British Mandate of Palestine...
, another Palestinian writer in exile in Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
published an anthology
Anthology
An anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler. It may be a collection of poems, short stories, plays, songs, or excerpts...
of their work in 1966.
Palestinian poets often write about the common theme of a strong affection and sense of loss and longing for a lost homeland.
Children's stories
The art of story telling is part of the cultural life in Arabic speaking countries. The tradition of “Tales From a Thousand and One Nights” is not an exception. In Palestine in each small town or village an itinerant story teller or hakawatis would visit and tell the stories they knew. The tales of the hakawatis once told for all ages are now emerging from the Palestinian Diaspora as children’s books.See also
- Palestine Festival of LiteraturePalestine Festival of LiteraturePalFest is an annual event that aims to bring a cultural festival of international standard to audiences in Palestine to assert "the power of culture over the culture of power." In recognition of how restricted movement is for Palestinians the Festival travels throughout Palestine, staging events...
- Palestinian musicPalestinian musicThe music of Palestine is one of many regional sub-genres of Arabic music. While it shares much in common with Arabic music, both structurally and instrumentally, there are musical forms and subject matter that are distinctively Palestinian.-Pre-1948:...
- Palestinian artPalestinian artPalestinian art is a term used to refer to paintings, posters, installation art and other visual media produced by Palestinian artists.While the term has also been used to refer to ancient art produced in the geographical region of Palestine, in its modern usage it generally refers to work of...
- Palestinian handicraftsPalestinian handicraftsPalestinian handicrafts are handicrafts produced by Palestinian people. A wide variety of handicrafts, many of which have been produced by Arabs in Palestine for hundreds of years, continue to be produced today. Palestinian handicrafts include embroidery work, pottery-making, soap-making,...
- Palestinian National TheatrePalestinian National TheatreThe Palestinian National Theatre is a Palestinian-owned theatre in Jerusalem's American Colony neighbourhood, near New Orient House. The theatre has been serving to actively encourage and promote Palestinian artistic and cultural activities and collaborates with the Palestinian ministry of...
- Speak, Bird, Speak AgainSpeak, Bird, Speak AgainSpeak, Bird, Speak Again: A book of Palestinian folk tales is a book first published in English in 1989 by Palestinian authors Ibrahim Muhawi and professor of sociology and anthropology at Bir Zeit University Sharif Kanaana....
Additional references
- Alvarado-Larroucau, Carlos, Écritures palestiniennes francophones ; Quête d’identité en espace néocolonial, Paris, Éditions L’Harmattan, coll. « Critiques littéraires », 2009. ISBN: 978-2-296-08579-4
External links
- Review of the anthology Qissat: Short Stories by Palestinian Women
- Google Books Sonia Nimr, Hannah Shaw, Ghada Karmi (2008) “Ghaddar the Ghoul and Other Palestinian Stories”, frances lincoln ltd, ISBN 1845075234
- Palestinian Literature: News and Reviews at IMEU.net