If I Were Another: Poems
by Mahmoud Darwish
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Winner of the PEN USA Literary Award for Translation Mahmoud Darwish was that rare literary phenomenon: a poet both acclaimed by critics as one of the most important poets in the Arab world and beloved by his readers. His language-lyrical and tender-helped to transform modern Arabic poetry into a living metaphor for the universal experiences of exile, loss, and identity. The poems in this collection, constructed from the cadence and imagery of the Palestinian struggle, shift between the most show more intimate individual experience and the burdens of history and collective memory. Brilliantly translated by Fady Joudah, If I Were Another-which collects the greatest epic works of Darwish's mature years-is a powerful yet elegant work by a master poet and demonstrates why Darwish was one of the most celebrated poets of his time and was hailed as the voice and conscience of an entire people. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
This is probably Darwish's best collection (it's actually four books in one), and one of the most exquisite volumes of poetry I've ever read. The highlight is his epic poem, "Mural", which is a gorgeous meditation on loss and dispossession, and the hope for a better future. I will always admire the resilience of the Palestinian people to find joy in the horrific circumstances they're subjected to by imperialism and Zionism. I challenge anyone who sees Palestinians and Arabs as subhuman to read this, and tell me after if they still have the same impression.
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Best of World Literature
435 works; 52 members
Middle Eastern Literature & Non-Fiction
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Author Information
151+ Works 1,955 Members
Arab poet Mahmoud Darwish was born on March 15, 1941. He was considered the Palestinian national poet and won numerous awards for his work including the 1969 Lotus Prize, the 1983 Lenin Peace Prize, and the 2001 Lannan Foundation Prize for Cultral Freedom. His best known work was Identity Card (1964). He also edited the journal Al Karmel and wrote show more the Palestinian declaration of independent statehood. He died from complications of heart surgery on August 9, 2008. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Awards and Honors
Classifications
- Genres
- Poetry, Fiction and Literature
- DDC/MDS
- 892.7 — Literature & rhetoric Literatures of other languages Afro-Asiatic literatures Arabic (Egypt, Lebanon, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Sudan)
- LCC
- PJ7820 .A7 .A21513 — Language and Literature Oriental languages and literatures Oriental philology and literature Arabic Arabic literature Individual authors or works
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 81
- Popularity
- 392,749
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (4.80)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 3
- ASINs
- 1
