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Poetry Reading | Reading and Performance: Mahmoud Darwish's In the Presence of Absence

Wednesday, November 2, 2011, 7:00 pm

Free

By one of the most transcendent poets of his generation. Darwish composed this remarkable work at the apex of his creativity, but with the full knowledge that his death was imminent. Thinking it might be his final oeuvre, he summons all his poetic genius to create a luminous work that defies categorization. In stunning language, Darwish’s self-eulogy inhabits a rare space where opposites bleed and blend into each other. Prose and poetry, life and death, and home and exile are all sung by the poet and his other. On the threshold of im/mortality, the poet looks back at his own existence, intertwined with that of his people. Through these lyrical meditations on love, longing, and Palestine, reflections on violence and historical tragedy, and existential musings, the poet bids himself and his readers a poignant farewell.

Mahmoud Darwish (1941–2008) is one of the most celebrated and revered poets in the Arab world. His collections of poetry include: Why Did You Leave the Horse Alone?, A River Dies of Thirst, Mural, The Butterfly’s Burden, Don’t Apologize for What You’ve Done, Like Almond Blossoms or Beyond, If I Were Another, Unfortunately, It Was Paradise, The Adam of Two Edens, and In the Presence of Absence (forthcoming). In 2001, Darwish was awarded the Lannan Cultural Freedom Prize.

Sinan Antoon is an Iraqi poet and novelist. His co-translation of Darwish’s poetry was nominated for the PEN Translation Prize in 2004. His works include The Baghdad Blues, I’jaam: An Iraqi Rhapsody, and The Pomegranate Alone. He is an assistant professor of Arabic Literature at New York University.

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Poetry Reading | Reading and Performance: Mahmoud Darwish's In the Presence of Absence

Wednesday, November 2, 2011, 7:00 pm