Midnight and Other Poems is the first full-length poetry collection to be published in the UK by this remarkable Palestinian writer, previously known to English-language readers for his highly-acclaimed autobiography I Saw Ramallah (Bloomsbury, 2004).
"Midnight and Other Poems is the most powerful and interesting collection I have read for a very long time."
R.V. Bailey
"Never mind that I speak not a word of Arabic. Mourid Barghouti's poetry shines through the translation. There are arresting images on almost every page."
Raymond Humphreys
Mourid Barghouti has spent many years in exile, and his long poem 'Midnight' is a rich montage of images of the land of his birth and the strong emotional responses to which these images give rise. Here, anger, frustration and despair are juxtaposed with yearning and tenderness in Barghouti's powerful and evocative account of occupation, violence and oppression. The shorter poems which comprise the second half of the book are, by turns, dramatic and hard-hitting, contemplative and reflective, and together present an equally powerful and graphic picture of the poet's homeland.
In Radwa Ashour's excellent translation, and with a helpful introduction by Guy Mannes-Abbott who recorded a number of conversations with the poet over a period of several weeks, this selection of Mourid Barghouti's poems marks an important addition to the body of Arabic literature available to English-language readers world-wide.
Mourid Barghouti was born in July 1944 in Deir Ghassana near Ramallah, Palestine. He has published twelve books of poetry, the last of which is Muntasaf al-Layl / Midnight, Beirut, 2005. His Collected Works came out in Beirut in 1997. A Small Sun, his first poetry book in English translation, was published by The Aldeburgh Poetry Trust in 2003. In 2000, he was awarded the Palestine Award for Poetry. He lives in Cairo.
About the translator:
Radwa Ashour is an Egyptian writer and scholar, currently Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Ain Shams University, Cairo. Well-known as a novelist and writer of short stories, she has also co-edited a major work on Arab Women's literature. As a translator, she has translated into English much of the poetry of Mourid Barghouti, to whom she has been married for many years. In 2007, Radwa Ashour was awarded the Constantine Cavafy International Prize for Literature.
About the introducer:
Guy Mannes-Abbott has written about writers and thinkers from across the world for The Independent, Guardian, New Statesman and other publications. He has written catalogue essays on contemporary Indian art, speculative essays about London and taught at the AA School of Architecture in London. He is the author of a series of widely published texts – poems, stories and aphorisms called e.things.
Author Biography:
MOURID BARGHOUTI was born on the 8 July 1944 in Deir Ghassana near Ramallah, Palestine. He has published 12 books of poetry, the last of which is 'Muntasaf al-Layl' / 'Midnight', Beirut, 2005. His 'Collected Works' came out in Beirut in 1997. 'A Small Sun', his first poetry book in English translation, was published by The Aldeburgh Poetry Trust in 2003. In the year 2000, he was awarded the Palestine Award for Poetry. His poems are published, in Arabic, in international literary magazines and English translations have been published in 'Al Ahram Weekly', 'Banipal', 'Times Literary Supplement', 'Pen' and 'Modern Poetry in Translation'. His autobiographical narrative, 'Ra'aytu Ramallah' / 'I Saw Ramallah' (1997), published in several editions in Arabic, won the Naguib Mahfouz Award for Literature (1997) and was translated into several languages; the English translation was published by the American University in Cairo Press as well as by Random House, New York and Bloomsbury, London. Edward Said described 'I Saw Ramallah' as A"one of the finest existential accounts of Palestinian displacement we now haveA" and John Berger wrote that 'I Saw Ramallah' was A"a bedside book if ever there was one, unforgettable memories, razor insights, name-games, stories with eyes closed, no conclusions, only the passionate pain of exile, recounted at the end of the day by a true poet.A"Mourid Barghouti has participated in numerous conferences and poetry readings and festivals in almost all Arab countries and in several European cities. He lives in Cairo.RADWA ASHOUR, the Egyptian writer and scholar, was born on 26 May 1946. She graduated from the Faculty of Arts, English Department, Cairo University and has an M.A. in comparative literature from the University of Cairo and a PhD in African-American Literature from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA. She has written seven novels, three collections of short stories and four books of criticism. As an editor, she supervised and edited the Arabic translation of Volume 9 of 'The Cambridge History of Literary Criticism' (2005) and co-edited 'Arab Women Writers: A Critical Reference Guide, 1873-1999' (2008). As a translator, she has translated into English much of the poetry of Mourid Barghouti, to whom she has been married for many years. In 2007, Radwa Ashour was awarded the Constantine Cavafy International Prize for Literature.She is currently Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Ain Shams University, Cairo.GUY MANNES-ABBOTT has written about writers and thinkers from across the world for The Independent, Guardian, New Statesman and other publications. He has written catalogue essays on contemporary Indian art, speculative essays about London and taught at the AA School of Architecture in London. He is the author of a series of widely published texts - poems, stories and aphorisms called e.things. They first appeared alongside the art of Wolfgang Tillmans, Sarah Lucas, Liam Gillick and others, and inspired films by artists including Cerith Wyn Evans and Jeremy Deller. A selection of e.things and his account of a journey into the interiors of Gujarat, India, are forthcoming. [www.g-m-a.net]
