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Dr. Tamim al-Barghouti reads a poem by Mahmoud Darwish.01/29/2009
A Commemoration of the Life and Poetry of Mahmoud Darwish
On January 27, a substantial audience convened in the ICC auditorium to pay tribute to the life and work of renowned Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish. CCAS’s director Dr. Michael Hudson introduced the event as well as the speakers, including Elisa Dun, a junior in the School of Foreign Service who serves as co-chair of Georgetown’s Students for Justice in Palestine. Ms. Dun presented a thorough biographical sketch of Darwish, which was followed by an engaging talk by Dr. Ibrahim Muhawi entitled “Contexts of Language in Darwish.”
From Ramallah, Palestine, Dr. Muhawi has taught at universities in the U.S. and abroad, and in 1989, he published Speak, Bird, Speak Again: Palestinian Arab Folktales. In 1995, Dr. Muhawi translated Darwish’s Memory for Forgetfulness. Dr. Muhawi’s lecture focused on three elements vis à vis Darwish’s poetry. He first addressed the poet’s performative use of language, such as musicality and word formation, to embody the Palestinian homeland. He then spoke about reading Darwish as a resistance poet, noting that while Darwish did not object to being the poet of Palestine, he wanted to be recognized for his work and not as a mouthpiece. Finally, Dr. Muhawi focused on Darwish’s death, asserting that by the end of his life, Darwish’s writing was his being. “He did not draw the line between himself and his work,” Muhawi said.
Dr. Tamim al-Barghouti, a renowned Palestinian poet himself and a visiting professor in CCAS, then joined Dr. Carolyn Forché, an accomplished poet and the Lannan Chair in Poetry and Professor of English at Georgetown, in reading a selection of Darwish’s poems. Dr. al-Barghouti read in Arabic, while Dr. Forché performed in English. While some works were presented in both languages, others were read in a single language. Selections included the powerful “Identity Card” as well as “On this Earth,” “Now in Exile,” and “The Eternity of Cactus.” To watch a video of the readings, click on the links below.
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