LONG AWAITED FIRST ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF CELEBRATED PALESTINIAN POET. Born
in 1977, Tamim Al-Barghouti is probably one of the most widely read
Palestinian poets of his generation. His poetry readings are attended by
thousands, sometimes packing stadiums and amphitheaters. The reception of
his poetry among a diverse audience from various backgrounds and age groups
is a testimony to the vitality of the centuries-old tradition of classical
Arabic poetry. The poems in this collection were written in Cairo,
Ramallah, Amman, Washington, DC and Berlin between 1996 and 2016. In 2007,
Al-Barghouti’s long poem “In Jerusalem,” which describes an aborted journey
to the city, became something of a street poem. Palestinian newspapers
dubbed Al-Barghouti “The Poet of Jerusalem.” To this day, his posters hang
on the streets of Jerusalem and other Palestinian cities, where key chains
are sold with his picture on them. Sections of the poem have even become
ring-tones blaring out from cell phones across the Arab world, and children
compete in memorizing and reciting it. “In Jerusalem” and other poems by
Al-Barghouti have also had millions views on various TV Channels as well as
on the internet, winning the poet an exceptional celebrity status in the
Arab World. On the January 26, 2011, one day after the Egyptian Revolution
that toppled President Hosni Mubarak, Al-Barghouti wrote the lyrical poem
“Hanet”; its Arabic title roughly translates as “It”s Close.” With the
internet down, he faxed the poem to a Cairo newspaper, copies of which were
distributed in Tahrir Square. Soon after, Al-Jazeera TV Channel broadcast a
recording of it and a video of his reading was projected in the Square
every couple of hours on makeshift screens.