The Tent Generations, Palestinian Poems gathers together works by a select number of Palestinian poets, over the past seven decades, that give expression to the Palestinian experience under Israeli military rule and Israeli occupation, as well as the experience of dispersion and displacement from their homeland following the Nakba of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, and the subsequent wars of 1967 and 1973.
These poems illuminate Palestinian responses to these tragic conflicts and wars that contributed to the loss of homeland, life under Israeli military rule and occupation, and the fragmentation and ruin of society and community. The poets in this collection span and represent different generations and narratives, different backgrounds, and different locations, some of whose voices have not been heard previously in English, and, by and large, others whose works are not previously translated into English. They are:
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Asma Rizq Tubi |
Fadwa Tuqan |
Mu’in Bseiso |
Harun Hashim Rasheed |
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Tawfiq Zayyad |
Youssef al-Khatib |
Rashid Hussein |
Abdel Wahab Zahida |
|
Samih al-Qasim |
Salem Jubran |
Zeinab Habash |
Muhammad al-Qaisi |
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Mahmoud al-Najjar |
Yousef al-Deek |
Rita Odeh |
Marwan Makhoul |
Although these poems cannot resolve the deep contradictions and disagreements that divide Palestinians and Israelis today, Mohammed Sawaie shows in this collection how these poets use poetry to describe their relationship to the Palestinian people, their homeland, and the presence of an Israeli occupier in their midst. His erudite research and selection of sources, his scholarly introduction, with notes, biographies and glossary, along with a chronological presentation of the poets, make it an ideal book for general readers, students, and scholars alike.