Saleem Al-Naffar
Honouring Saleem Al-Naffar 1963-2023
Departure
Earth is yawning,
spreading her wings,
soldiers are babbling,
siege coming closer.
Mirrors will go extinct:
soldiers will depart
without one word.
Translated from Arabic to English
by Muhammad Jihad Ismael
Life
Knives might eat
what remains of my ribs,
machines might smash
what remains of stones,
but life is coming,
for that is its way,
creating life even for us.
Translated from Arabic to English
by Muhammad Jihad Ismael
"Departure" and "Life" were first published in English in "Palestinian Poet Gives Heart To His People" in Rebel Voice, January 25, 2022.
Rebel Voice write's that these 'sample works for speakers of English, [were] translated for the first time by his lifelong colleague Muhammad Jihad Ismael. “Life,” “Departure” and “O My Lovers” are collected in Naffar’s Poetic Works (Ramallah: Ministry of Culture Publications 2016).'
Saleem Al Naffar was born in 1963 near Gaza City. In 1967, in the aftermath of the occupiers assault on Gaza, Saleem and his family were forced to migrate to Syria.
Since he was a young boy, literature and poetry were Saleem's solace. He began writing lyrics in high school, and then studied Arabic literature at Tishreen University. After first seeking out any available stage for reciting his poems, Naffar soon began placing his poems in Arabic journals and newspapers.
After the 1994 founding of the Palestinian Authority, Naffar returned with his family to live in Gaza. He lived and wrote from there, publishing volumes of poems, novels (for example, Nights of Latakia), and an autobiography (Little Memory on Happiness)—working also as an editor for a range of Arabic journals and magazines.
“Generations of my family have endured the needless poverty of apartheid,” Naffar has said. “From that, I sometimes sing of our despair. But maybe people like my work because, even so, it never gives in to hatred or calls for violence.”
The above bio is summarised from "Palestinian Poet Gives Heart To His People" in Rebel Voice, January 25, 2022
We are heartbroken that this renowned poet, whose words are dear to many, was murdered, alongside his family, by the Israeli occupation in Gaza on the 7th of December 2023.
