Local poets pay tribute to Palestinian Darwish

I Wayan Juniartha ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Denpasar   |  Tue, 10/07/2008 10:02 AM  |  Bali

Balinese poets paid tribute to the late Mahmoud Darwish, the great Palestinian literary figure known for his powerful poems and influential prose, in a public reading on Sunday evening.

Held at the Danes Art Veranda, Denpasar, the reading was part of a global initiative called "A Worldwide Reading in Memory of Mahmoud Darwish".

"Today, numerous literary communities across the globe organize the readings of Mahmoud Darwish's works to pay homage to this great poet as well as to show our sympathy to the people of Palestine," Ubud Writers and Readers Festival 2008 director, Janet De Neefe, said.

The Bali reading was organized by the Ubud Festival and Danes Art Veranda.

Mahmoud Darwish passed away last August during heart surgery, at the age of 67.

The reading featured five Balinese poets: Kadek Sonia Piscayanti, Made Adnyana Ole, Pranitadewi, I Wayan Sunarta and Tan Lioe Ie.

Ubud-based Italian musician Anello set the tone of the tribute by playing a traditional Arab string instrument, the oud, and a wind instrument nay. His compositions brought the immensity and seclusion of the Arabian deserts into the dimly lit hall of Danes Art Veranda and to the hearts of the dozens of local literature lovers who attended the event.

Isolation is a recurring theme of Darwish's works. Kadek Sonia Piscayanti gave a haunting rendition of Darwish's poem "Who Am I", which narrates an individual's struggle against a sense of desolation.

To some extent, the poem reflects Darwish's personal life in exile. He spent many of his adult years in foreign lands, including Lebanon, Egypt and France, after his home village, Barweh in Galilee, was razed to the ground by the Israelis.

Because of his political activism, he was put under house arrest and also imprisoned in Israeli jails. After years in exile, Darwish returned to Palestine in 1996. He served as a member of the executive committee of Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the director of the Palestinian Research Center.

Darwish's enduring love for Palestine and his passion for the struggle of the Palestinian people is evident in his poem "A Lover from Palestine", which was read by Balinese poet I Wayan Sunarta with an endearing intensity that drew enthusiastic applause.

"It is a tremendous poem and a very nationalistic piece of literature, but Darwish managed to present that political message in a very beautiful way. I was deeply touched by this poem," Sunarta said.

Poet Pranitadewi presented the romantic, melancholic side of Darwish through her readings of his love poems, "Sonnet I" and "Sonnet II".

Yet it was senior poet Tan Lioe Ie who brought the night to a thundering end. He sang, whispered, roared and thumped his chest as he read Darwish's masterpiece "State of Siege".

It was a brilliant performance that captured the diverse human emotions immortalized in the long poem. "State of Siege" is seen as an evocative account of the Palestinians' perseverance, love, loss and collective determination to survive the painful ordeal inflicted by their enemies.

Throughout his life, Darwish published 30 poetry and prose collections. His works have been translated into 35 languages. In 2001 he was awarded the Lannan Prize for Cultural Freedom.

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