Poetry
أشد على أياديكم
Not translated into English
Tawfiq Zayyad · 1966
Synopsis
A collection of poems on courage and resistance, several of which, set to music, have entered the living repertoire of Palestinian resistance songs. The best known, “أناديكم”, in which the poet refuses to lower his brow and his flags, opens his true career according to the critic Othman Hassan; the verses mix narrative with dramatic tension and often draw on popular expression.
Context
Published in 1966, the collection is regarded as a landmark stage of the Palestinian struggle. Its author ranks, with Mahmoud Darwish and Samih al-Qasim, among the three great poets of the resistance, and he was the first of the three to begin writing poetry, in 1956. There followed, from 1969 to 1973, Adfinu mawtakum wa-nhadu, Kalimat muqatila, Tahlilat al-mawt wa-l-shahada and other collections. The author took a keen interest in popular literature.
Who it is for
For reading the resistance poetry of the Palestinians who remained in Galilee, in a language close to popular speech.
Prizes and reception
Othman Hassan, in al-Khaleej in 2018, sees in it a poetry of national consciousness, of dignity and of freedom.