In Jerusalem And Other Poems

Description

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.