Concord between Palestinian Resistance and Literature: A Historico-Literary Analysis of Darwish’s Works

Abstract

This research explores the last seventy years of the Palestinian Arabs’ political struggle for their recognition as a sovereign nation-state as reflected in the poetic and prose works of Palestinian national poet, Mahmoud Darwish (1941-2008). Given the relationship between life and literature, the Palestinian situation can be best revealed through their own cultural productions, especially literature. Darwish has utilized his sense of exile and cultural memory to realize the ideals of Palestinian home and its requisite identity. His writings constitute an integral part of Palestinian resistance literature. His works are reflective of a deep aesthetic sense coupled with a profound political understanding of the ground facts within and outside Palestine. He contests the legitimacy of a sustained foreign occupation and at the same time stresses the need of preserving national cultural heritage. He stresses the need of both intellectual and political resistance to the gradual encroachment caused by the colonial settlement regime. The present research has sought to figure out the dimensions of Darwish’s poetic and intellectual contribution to the volatile geopolitical issue of the resistance to a hegemonic control.