Journal of an Ordinary Grief

"Every beautiful poem is an act of resistance," asserts Darwish. Both voice of the Palestinian people & one of the most transcendent poets of his generation, Mahmoud Darwish also wrote several remarkable volumes of autobiographical essays over the course of his life. First published in Beirut in 1973, these probing essays ask vital questions about the existentially complex realities the Palestinians in Israel face & the ambiguity of Darwish’s own identity as an Israeli Palestinian. They call upon myth, memory, and language to delve into the poet’s experience of house arrest, his encounters with Israeli interrogators, & the periods he spent in prison. Meditative, lyrical, rhythmic, Darwish gives absence a vital presence in these linked essays. Journal is a moving & intimate account of the loss of homeland and, for many, of life inside the porous walls of occupation—no ordinary grief.°°°Ibrahim Muhawi is Courtesy Professor of Comparative Literature at the University of Oregon. He has held teaching positions in North America, the Middle East, North Africa & Europe, where he taught English Literature, Literary Translation, & Arabic folklore. He has published a number of scholarly works & received several awards, including the 2004 Lannan Residency, the 2011 PEN Translation Prize, & a 2015 American Academy of Arts & Letters Award. Muhawi is a renowned scholar & translator of the works of Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish.

"Darwish is to be read with urgency, in the night, when nothing else moves but his lines."
-The Village Voice

"Every beautiful poem is an act of resistance," asserts Darwish. Both voice of the Palestinian people and one of the most transcendent poets of his generation, Mahmoud Darwish also wrote several remarkable volumes of autobiographical essays over the course of his life. First published in Beirut in 1973, these probing essays ask vital questions about the existentially complex realities the Palestinians in Israel face and the ambiguity of Darwish's own identity as an Israeli Palestinian. They call upon myth, memory, and language to delve into the poet's experience of house arrest, his encounters with Israeli interrogators, and the periods he spent in prison. Meditative, lyrical, rhythmic, Darwish gives absence a vital presence in these linked essays. Journal is a moving and intimate account of the loss of homeland and, for many, of life inside the porous walls of occupation––no ordinary grief.

Mahmoud Darwish (1941–2008) was one of the most acclaimed poets in the Arab world. His twenty books of poetry include Why Did You Leave the Horse Alone? A River Dies of Thirst, Mural, The Bed of the Stranger, and In the Presence of Absence (forthcoming from Archipelago Books). In 2001 Darwish was awarded the Lannan Cultural Freedom Prize.

Winner of the 2011 PEN Translation Prize

Winner of the 2011 PEN Translation Prize A collection of autobiographical essays by one of the greatest poets to come from Palestine. Indispensable reading for anyone interested in the roots and ramifications of the Israeli and Palestinian conflict. Muhawi's own prose and meticulous footnotes are impeccable. An inspired and scholarly piece of research. —Words Without Borders “Every beautiful poem is an act of resistance,” writes Mahmoud Darwish. In these probing essays, Darwish, a voice of the Palestinian people and one of the most transcendent poets of his generation, interrogates the experience of occupation and the meaning of liberation. Calling upon myth, memory, and language, these essays delve into the poet’s experience of house arrest, his encounters with Israeli interrogators, and the periods he spent in prison. Meditative, lyrical, and rhythmic—Darwish gives absence a vital presence in these linked essays. Journal is a moving and intimate account of the loss of homeland and, for many, of life inside the porous walls of occupation—no ordinary grief. A collection of autobiographical essays by one of the greatest poets to come from Palestine. "Every beautiful poem is an act of resistance," asserts Darwish. Both voice of the Palestinian people and one of the most transcendent poets of his generation, Mahmoud Darwish also wrote several remarkable volumes of autobiographical essays over the course of his life. First published in Beirut in 1973, these probing essays ask vital questions about the existentially complex realities the Palestinians in Israel face and the ambiguity of Darwish’s own identity as an Israeli Palestinian. They call upon myth, memory, and language to delve into the poet’s experience of house arrest, his encounters with Israeli interrogators, and the periods he spent in prison. Meditative, lyrical, rhythmic, Darwish gives absence a vital presence in these linked essays. Journal is a moving and intimate account of the loss of homeland and, for many, of life inside the porous walls of occupation—no ordinary grief. One of Darwish's early works. This prophetic book provides the background for the poet's decision to become an exile