Samih al-Qasim

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Samīħ al-Qāsim
Palestinian
Period1958-2014
GenreNationalist, tragedy

Samīħ al-Qāsim al Kaissy (

Palestinian poet with Israeli citizenship whose work is well known throughout the Arab world. He was born in Transjordan and later lived in Mandatory Palestine and Israel. Before the Six-Day War in 1967 he was mainly influenced by Arab nationalism; after the war he joined the Israeli Communist Party
.

Early life

Al-Qasim was born in 1939 to a Druze family in the Emirate of Transjordan (now Jordan), in the northern city of Zarqa, while his father served in the Arab Legion of King Abdullah. He came from a Druze family from the town of Rameh in the Upper Galilee. Al-Qasim attended primary school there and then later graduated from secondary school in Nazareth. His family did not flee Rameh during the 1948 Palestinian expulsion and flight (Nakba).[4] In his book About Principles and Art, he explains:

While I was still at primary school the Palestinian tragedy occurred. I regard that date as the date of my birth, because the first images I can remember are of the 1948 events. My thoughts and images spring from the number 48.[4]

Life as a poet and journalist

By 1984, al-Qasim had written twenty-four volumes of

nationalist poetry and published six collections of poems. His poems in general are relatively short, some being no more than just two verses.[4]
Some of his famous poems include:

Al-Qasim contributed to the journals of Al-Ittihad, Al-Jadid, Index and others.[4] He was among the regular contributors of the Lotus magazine of the Afro-Asian Writers Association.[5]

He claimed that the

pan-Arab ideology of Nasserism impressed him during the nationalist post-1948 era.[6] Most of his poetry relates to the change of life before and after the Nakba, the Palestinian and broader Arab struggle to free their lands from foreign influence, Arab nationalism, and various Arab tragedies. In 1968, he published his first collection of poetry, Waiting for the Thunderbird.[6] Al-Qasim wrote about these subjects while they were at the climax of their popularity among the Arab population in the later half of the 20th century. When asked by his Iraqi friend, poet Buland al-Haidari if he had visited Baghdad, he replied by saying he did not have to, since he views any Arab city as equal to his own Arab residence.[citation needed
]

Political influence

Al-Qasim claims that the

Damon Prison) in Haifa.[8] During this time, he virtually lost his nationalistic emotions upon hearing Israeli radio announcing its territorial gains after their victory.[6]

Life in Israel

Al-Qasim worked as a journalist in Haifa where he ran the Arabesque Press and the Folk Arts Centre and was the editor-in-chief of the Israeli Arab newspaper Kul al-Arab.[9] He would recite many of his poems to large audiences at monthly gatherings in the Arab towns and cities of the Galilee. Al-Qasim refused to leave his homeland; in an interview with Index he is quoted as saying "I have chosen to remain in my own country not because I love myself less, but because I love my country more".[4]

Al-Qasim visited Syria in 1997 and in 2000. He was prevented by Israeli authorities from leaving to Lebanon for a poetry event in 2001.[10]

Death

Al-Qasim died on August 19, 2014, after a long battle with cancer. His funeral was held on August 21, 2014, in Rameh.[citation needed]

Notes

  1. ^ Interview with Mira Awad, Maariv, 22 May 2009
  2. ^ Alternatively spelt סמיח אל-קאסם by some media
  3. ^ Samīħ al-Qāsim reads one of his poem at the Sha'ar International Poetry Festival 2009
  4. ^ a b c d e A Bilingual Anthology of Arabic Poetry - Victims of A Map by Samih al-Qasim, Adonis, and Mahmoud Darwish. Al-Saqi Books 26 Westbourne Grove, London W2 1984
  5. ISBN 978-3-031-09756-0
    .
  6. ^ a b c d Palestinian Writers in Israel Hardy, Rogers. December 1982, Boston Review
  7. ^ The Druzes in the Jewish State: A Brief History 171.
  8. ^ Lines of Resistance Palattaella, John. The Nation
  9. ^ Poet Profile: Samih al-Qasim Archived 2013-09-06 at the Wayback Machine PBS Online
  10. ^ Encyclopedia of the Palestinians by Philip Mattar. Facts on File 2005

External links

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