Mural
Published on 23. April 2024
Book
Paperback/Softback
80 pages
978-1-80429-711-7 (ISBN)
Description
Mural is the testimony of one of the most important and powerful poets of our age.
Mahmoud Darwish was the unofficial laureate of Palestine. One of the greatest poets of the last half-century, his work evokes the loss of his homeland and is suffused with the pain of dispossession and exile. Here, his close friends John Berger and Rema Hammami present a beautiful new translation of two of Darwish's later works: his long masterpiece Mural, a contemplation of his life and work written following life-threatening surgery, and his last poem, The Dice Player, which Darwish read in Ramallah a month before his death.
Illustrated with original drawings by John Berger.
Mahmoud Darwish was the unofficial laureate of Palestine. One of the greatest poets of the last half-century, his work evokes the loss of his homeland and is suffused with the pain of dispossession and exile. Here, his close friends John Berger and Rema Hammami present a beautiful new translation of two of Darwish's later works: his long masterpiece Mural, a contemplation of his life and work written following life-threatening surgery, and his last poem, The Dice Player, which Darwish read in Ramallah a month before his death.
Illustrated with original drawings by John Berger.
Reviews / Votes
Darwish's poetry is an epic effort to transform the lyrics of loss into the indefinitely postponed drama of return. -- Edward Said The most celebrated writer of verse in the Arab world. -- Adam Shatz * The New York Times * The translation is very fine . . . It's a joy to read and among the very best Palestinian literature. -- Raja Shehadeh, author of <i>Palestinian Walks</i> Did as much as anyone to forge a Palestinian national consciousness. -- Peter Clark * The Guardian * an exquisitely designed book, enhanced by several of Berger's evocative drawings ... Mural is a spiraling and circuitous poem, alive with swerves and sly twists, moving along corridors that dead-end only to open out unexpectedly into detours and hidden passageways. That single adjective, conspicuous in Darwish's spare style, presages the very structure of Mural. -- Eric Ormsby * Bookforum * The conundrum of what is individual and what is collective, and inevitably political, is inescapable for both Darwish and his readers. But the primary concern of Mural is emphatically the question of identity. * The Hudson Review *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Dimensions
Height: 204 mm
Width: 126 mm
Thickness: 7 mm
Weight
90 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-80429-711-7 (9781804297117)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Persons
Mahmoud Darwish (1942-2008) published some thirty books of poetry and prose; his work has been translated into thirty-five languages. His many international awards include the Lenin Peace Prize and the Lannan Foundation Prize for Cultural Freedom.
Content
Al Rabweh by John Berger
Mural
The Dice Player
Notes on the text
Mural
The Dice Player
Notes on the text