Blog

This article is also available in: Italiano

“Una trilogia palestinese” is simply the finest collection of prose texts by Mahmoud Darwish, one of the greatest poets in the world

Una trilogia palestinese

The first collection of the three most significant prose texts by one of the greatest poets of the twentieth century. And undoubtedly by the greatest Arab poet and writer of the last century. Says Elias Sanbar: “Darwish was not an ambassador of his country but a poet unattached to nationality and passport. Certainly Palestine was his humus, the land where he had his roots: its flora and fauna, its music and its clouds, but all this should not have been his limit. If he talks about land, that land is his own land. He never got bogged down in the interpretations that gave him the work of him “. Diary of the usual sadness (1973) retraces the time preceding the choice of exile – the house arrest, the interrogations of Israeli officers, the prison – and closes the most drastically militant phase of the poet. Memory for Forgetfulness (1987) evokes the Israeli invasion of Beirut in August 1982. In the presence of absence (2006) is a reflection on poetic experience and language. A sort of testament, which coincides with the farewell of the poignant poem Il Giocatore d’Azzardo (2009), which closes this volume.

Darwish’s best prose collection

I am particularly attached to this book as it was my first real approach with Mahmoud Darwish and, after 7 years of reading it, I must say that it is still today one of the most fascinating collections of the great Palestinian poet. In this text we will in fact be able to travel in his prose, managing to penetrate the history of the author and his people, thus being able to have a unique and privileged view of the Nakba and the entire Palestinian affair. Unlike many of his compatriots, in fact, Darwish‘s family actually escaped from Palestine, but was also among the few to return there in time, so much so that the poet grew up in the newly born state. This forced him to live in the absurd situation of being an alien in his own land and will lead him to elaborate texts and thoughts of unique intensity and beauty, so much so that even today he is considered among the best poets in history.

“[…] Their missiles have dug wells for water, their tongue of death has prompted us to sing:” We will not go “. We have seen, on the screens of others, our faces exalted by the enormity of that promise, we have seen them break the siege with irremovable signs of victory.

We will not lose anything from now on, because Beirut is still here and we are still in Beirut, here in Beirut, in the middle of this sea, at the gates of this desert. We, many names from a different homeland, many words that find their own meaning. Here, in the curtain raised by the meanings that have been lost, by the expressions that have been lost, by the splinters of an orphan light that has been expelled with a whip. ”

“Memory for Forgetfulness” by Mahmoud Darwish

This first part is mainly contained in “Diary of the usual sadness”, while in “Memory for Forgetfulness” we will have the opportunity to immerse ourselves in the Israeli invasion of Beirut, a decisive moment for the fate of the Middle East and for the life of the poet. . Darwish, like most of the Arab intelligentsia, was in the Lebanese capital and his texts on the subject are among the most beautiful tributes reserved to the city.

Poetry in prose

It is no mystery that Darwish is one of my absolute favorite authors, but here his extraordinary poetic skills blend with prose, giving life to things never seen for quality and charm. An example is the wonderful description he gives of coffee in the morning, a moment of pure everyday life for many but which for him represents almost a mystical moment of inner peace and that for this reason he describes so well that the coffee itself would blush when reading these words.

With “Trilogia palestinese” we are simply in front of a masterpiece and it is one of the very rare cases in which it becomes complicated to praise a specific aspect; the feeling that remains once finished is that of having had one of the highest literary experiences ever, finally managing to immerse yourself in one of the most extraordinary minds ever.

Follow us on our facebook page, Spotify, YouTube,Twitter and Instagram, or on our Telegram channel. Any like, sharing or support is welcome and helps us to dedicate ourselves more and more to our passion: telling the Middle East ..