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Anthology
of Modern Palestinian Literature
edited by Salma Khadra Jayyusi
This unique
and definitive anthology offers the widest
selection ever compiled of modern Palestinian
literature. Presented here are translations
of poems, stories, and excerpts from novels,
as well as works by Palestinian poets who
write in English. Also included are personal
narratives by Palestinian writers depicting
the varied aspects of Palestinian life from
the turn of the century to the present.
These images capture life in Arab Palestine
before 1948 and during the wars of 1948
and 1967, and vivify the ensuing calamities
experienced by Palestinians in the diaspora
and under occupation.
Many generations
of Palestinian writers are represented -those
still living in their own land, either in
Israel proper or on the West Bank and the
Gaza Strip, and those who write as exiles
from the perspective of the Palestinian
diaspora.
Biographical
sketches introduce the authors, and a comprehensive
chronology of modern Palestinian history
provides background for some of the events
and places referred to in the selections.
The introduction provides a concise but
thorough critical history of Palestinian
literature during the twentieth century.
About the
Author
Salma Khadra
Jayyusi, one of the Arab world's most distinguished
literary personalities, is widely known
for her poetry, literary criticism, and
scholarship. She is author of the two-volume
critical history Trends and Movements
in Modern Arabic Poetry and editor of
Literature of Modern Arabia, as well
as Modern Arabic Poetry: An Anthology
and Modern Arabic Fiction: An Anthology
for Columbia University Press. She is also
the editor of Abu
Jmeel's Daughter and Other Stories - Folk
Tales from Palestine and Lebanon.
Reviews
"This massive, well-edited, translated,
and researched volume is a living monument
to the culture of a nation, now represented
in English for the first time with remarkable
results in coverage, accuracy, and authenticity.Far
from a folkloric or exotic record, this
anthology admits the Palestinian contribution
to world culture at an eminent pace."
—Edward Said
"Jayyusi
presents in English translation a Palestinian
world view characterized by intensity, paradox,
aspiration, and eloquence. . . Indispensable
to anyone with a serious interest in contemporary
Arab culture."
—Arab Studies Quarterly
"No
other general anthology of Palestinian or
Arabic literature approaches the scope and
variety represented here."
—Farouk A.W. Mustafa, Center for Middle
Eastern Studies, University of Chicago
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