The Tent Generations: Palestinian Poems

The Tent Generations: Palestinian Poems gives expression to the lives of Palestinians under Israeli rule as well as the experience of dispersion of the Palestinian population from their homeland ensuing from the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and the subsequent wars of 1967 and 1973, and adds an urgent poetic dimension to our understanding of this still unfolding history.

This anthology stages a timely mahrajan or poetry gathering of 20th Century Palestinian poets - both in Palestine and the diaspora - breaking new ground and bringing readers the powerful and moving voices of poets such as Salem Jubran, Rashid Hussein, Tawfiq Zayyad, Mu'in Bseiso, Fadwa Tuqan, Yusuf Al-Deek, and Samih al-Qasim, and a number unknown until this book in English.

These deeply resonant texts derive from Dr Mohammed Sawaie's erudite research and selection of sources, as well as his careful translation of sixteen poets from Palestine and its diaspora. His contextualization of the poets and Palestine in a helpful introduction, with biographies and notes for each of the poets, and a chronological presentation, make it an ideal book for general readers, students, and scholars alike. Against the bleakness of the reality of war, and living under occupation, the poems in The Tent Generations are a testament to the vibrancy of the poetic word and the resilience of the people of Palestine.