COVER FEATURE

27 
30 
31 
Yousef Khanfar
Salma Khadra Jayyusi
Sahar Mustafah Palestine
Voices
34  Ibrahim Nasrallah
38  Ziad Khadash
41  Sheikha Helawy
43  Naomi Shihab Nye
46  Isabella Hammad
with Keija Parssinen
50  Nabel Al-Arini
53  Hala Alyan
54  Samah Sabawi
56  Joudie Kalla
58  Ibtisam Barakat
61 
64 
66 
Liana Badr
Ghada Karmi
Ahlam Bsharat
An Introduction
67  Mahmoud Shukair by Yousef Khanfar
70  Najwan Darwish
71  Yousef Khanfar

75  Olivia Elias
76  Ibtisam Azem
78  William Voskergian
80  Adania Shibli
with Claudia Steinberg
83  George Abraham
84  Shereen Malherbe
With translations by
Kareem Abu-Zeid, Omnia
Amin, Sinan Antoon,
Yazan Ashqar, Aida Bamia,
Katharine Halls, and Aicha
Yassin
With art by Nabil Anani,
Imad Abu Shtayyah, Samia
Halaby, Sliman Mansour,
Nadine Toukan, Asma
Ghanem, Maher Naji,
Manal Deeb, Khair Alah
Salim, Rawan Anani, Reem
Khader, Laila Shawa,
Mohamed Masri, Hiba
Yassine, Motaz Azaiza,
and Dana Barqawi
I
t has been said, Wisdom descended into the hands of the Chinese, the brains
of the Greeks, and the tongue of the Arabs.
Palestinian writers, poets, and playwrights are fortunate to fall into the
orbit of the Arabic language. In Palestine, the land, rivers, and trees speak Ara-
bic. While the wealth of most languages comes to less than a million words,
the Arabic language employs about twelve million words. Alas, a greater part
of Arabic poetry and literature is simply untranslatable due to the depth,
abundance, and richness of the language. The Arabic language has surpassed
the meridian of glory.
As much as I love reading beautiful poetry from different parts of the
world, to me, there is no other poetry where I can literally hear music like
classical Arabian poetry. While the language is used in science, medicine,
and engineering, it is still the supreme language for the mystical tongue of
romance, love, and desire. Reading an Arabian love qasida in the night, under
the stars, is like a long caress, sashaying softly with an intoxicating charm,
across one’s warm body and soul.
Even though we endorse the importance of translation, some view it as the
enemy of the writer and especially the poet. Translation is an affair of hand-to-
hand combat where one entity forces another entity into a linguistic migration
to conform to a new nation, losing its authenticity and identity. Most essen-
tially, instead of voicing the passionate flames of the poet, translation voices
their ashes. Nevertheless, I salute the translators who keep the native aroma of
these writers and poets.
Palestine was born in the purple. Palestinians are worshipers of liberty and
friends of the oppressed. They believe justice is the only temple and humanity
the only religion. They use their burdens for a pillow and hope for their blan-
ket. With tender hearts they stand strongly, and with resistance they march
proudly. Under colonization, even though they walk daily to the gallows, they
would rather love life where death is king than live life where love is dead.
They are one of the most hospitable, generous, and friendliest of all nations.
While most writers offer their writing to the masses, Palestinian writ-
ers offer their very souls. For anything that is born from the depths of the
heart has a sovereign life. They invite readers to hold up a mirror and have

NABIL ANANI / COURTESY OF THE ARTIST WORLDLIT.ORG 27

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COVER FEATURE INTRODUCTION | BY YOUSEF KHANFAR
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an honest discourse with themselves. Since the Nakba,
Palestinian literature has blossomed and increased in
popularity around the world. These magical narratives
might not save lives, but they save souls. Courage, jus-
tice, and liberty throb in their blood and pulse in their
verse and prose. Such magnificent writing and art can
An award-winning
Palestinian author, only be born from a nation that has been cultivated
Yousef Khanfar throughout the ages—colonized much, suffered much,
has published three loved much, and ripened much.
books, is featured For thousands of years, storytelling has been the
globally in many currency of Palestine. The storyteller, Hakawatie, male
publications, and or female, shapes fertile minds with fascination and
is listed as one of beauty. Some of the stories are exquisite, laced with a
the world’s top dash of adventure, spices of mystery, and sensations of
photographers. the heart. Hakawaties are able to transport souls from
He has received the harshness of reality to a dreamy world of myth and
appreciation from
legends.
the White House,
When violence breaks out and Palestinian cities
US Supreme Court,
the UK’s House of are terrorized and bombed by the colonizer, that is
Lords, and beyond. when the Hakawaties come alive. They shield and tell
The Fulbright the children, who are soaked to the skin with anxiety
Center for Peace in from the gray air of carnage, epic tales fashioned with
Washington, DC, an ambience of imagination and safety. They tell them
selected his book to stories of loveliness that tower above darkness, to
help celebrate the inspire and set them free of fear. They allow them to
Global Symposium elude the terrors in their minds while still facing their
of Peaceful Nations. storm of persistent innocent questions.
He was selected as
Artist of the Year
Today the world views Palestinians as Souls of
Principle and not only as Human Bodies—principles
to promote literacy
of truth, justice, and liberty. Principles of humanity,
with UNICEF, and the
Palestine mission to dignity, and morality. While colonization still wrings
the blood and marrow of their lives, they continue
the United Nations
honored him for their resistance through the pen, brush, camera, and
“appreciation of the like. Because in the Holy Land, under the dark
his extraordinary shadows of colonization, every day for the Palestinians
service to promoting is a Golgotha.
peace and justice As colonization slowly dehumanizes Palestine and
in Palestine the Palestinians, who are the victims of victims, some
through art.” (www. of the most iconic and legendary figures in history
YousefKhanfar.com) have emerged. Their flames of resistance inspire many
generations, and their words, art, and actions have
influenced nations and leaders around the world, from
Join us for a Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther
worldwide Zoom King Jr., Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali, James Baldwin,
launch event on and Alice Walker. During Angela Davis’s trial, Pales-
Thursday, July tinians stood in solidarity with her and showered her
15. For more with letters of support from activists, prisoners, and
information, visit artists. Today, Free Palestine and Black Lives Matter still
worldlit.org. walk hand in hand, twin sisters in a mutual struggle.
And who would forget when George Jackson,
a black revolutionary writer, was assassinated in 1971
by prison guards? Among the ninety-nine books
he had in his prison cell, one was Enemy of the Sun,
named after the eponymous poem by Palestinian poet
Samih al-Qasim. Although the poem was mistakenly
translated and circulated in Black Panther newspapers
and other publications under Jackson’s name, he and
other cultural leaders were deeply influenced by Al-
Qasim’s poetry. Ultimately, the greatest art and artists
are the ones with many imitators.
Liquid transforms through different phases of
temperature; as water travels from subzero freezing to
extreme blistering heat, both extremes are dangerous
and deadly. The same is true of language, which can
dwell in different phases of the extreme, from deafen-
ing silence to malicious propaganda. And nothing is
more shameful than when no intellectuals, writers,
or artists raise a protest by pen, brush, or platform to
denounce the unbearable oppression of their fellow
human beings.
Palestinian writers, poets, and artists face rest-
less years of inner searching. They believe beauty
can be born out of chaos, and they try to harness it.
Under colonization, their lives are suffused by grow-
ing anxiety about the political environment and their
Even though they walk daily
to the gallows, Palestinians
would rather love life where
death is king than live life
where love is dead.
own responsibility as artists. As they transpose their
lives into writing and art, by expressing their true
inner feelings and thoughts, they are able to endure the
oppressive burden imposed upon them and see their
own experiences in a fresh, significant, and powerful
way. They are ambassadors of positive change to their
nation and the world.
In this mosaic of Palestine Voices, we will travel to
Khartoum, listen to The Bodies, witness the crown-
ing of a Young King, swing on a Salt Swing, read
Letters from the Sea, appreciate the beauty of The
Braid, search for treasure under The Cypress Tree, and
wonder about The Classroom That Disappeared. On
Another Morning, we meet to harvest the Late Olives,

28 WLT SUMMER 2021

visit a Photo Studio where No One Looks
at Their Back in the Mirror, learn from A
Stone Necklace from Palestine, meditate at
Fatima Seminary, marvel at what’s Stranger
Than Fiction, listen to an Offering while
Barely Breathing, and hold up a mirror for
Reflections on Palestinian Identity. Finally,
we dream of Taking Back Jerusalem, in the
belief that There Will Be Peace in the Holy
Land, and enjoy the delicious cuisine of
Palestine on Your Plate, which reminds me
of my childhood days with my siblings at
the dining room table, where we pulled
each other’s hair for the largest portion.
Palestine Voices will hum within your
soul; they are too enchanting to escape
astonishment. There are pages and pages
drenched through and through with radi-
ance and beauty. These voices are designed
to captivate and not to convince, for I
believe art can change the future; art is a
teacher. Palestinian writers, poets, and art-
ists are children of the land, the sun, and
the sea whose companions are love, pas-
sion, and dreams. Justice and everlasting
freedom shall be theirs, though for now,
they must escape the atrocities of coloniza-
tion through the gateways of solitude.
As tragedies happen to the best—like a
furious lion captured in a strong steel net
and like a delicate butterfly caught in a fine
silk net—and as Palestinians are snared in
the evil net of time, they pray and hope for IMAD ABU SHTAYYAH / COURTESY OF THE ARTIST

the swift wheels of justice and freedom,

for hope is oxygen. The only remedy for
refugees, exiled and uprooted, is a free
So, come along.
homeland. The dream and hope of every
Come on, all men and women of truth.
Palestinian is to be back to their roots and
Come on, young spirits of Palestine.
their ancestors’ land, regardless of where
Come on, young budding souls of Her Majesty.
they are, how long it will take, and how old
Reach out to the brush and canvas, camera and images, pen and papers.
they are. And as for me, I would rather live
Fly high with your dreams, trust the flames, and follow the path.
in a small shack in my beloved Palestine
I have two wings, for you and Palestine.
than be the God of Genesis.
Do you have sky . . . ?

Yousef Khanfar
Executive Editor
For thousands of
years, storytelling has
been the currency of Visit worldlit.org to browse
Palestine. Khanfar’s “Palestine Bookshelf”
WORLDLIT.ORG 29
Reproduced with permission of copyright owner. Further reproduction
prohibited without permission.