Mural

(Paperback)

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Description

Mural is a testimony to one of the most important and powerful poets of our age. Mahmoud Darwish was the Palestinian national poet. 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, exile and loss. Here, his close friends John Berger and Rema Hammami present a beautiful new translation of two of Darwishs 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

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 Palestinian Walks
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 *

Author Bio

Mahmoud Darwish (19422008) 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.