WEST BANK: STORY: Rising poetry star Tamim al-Barghouti is a new voice of Palestinian youth

Rising poetry star Tamim al-Barghouti writes in accessible, partly colloquial Arabic, and this may be one of the factors contributing to his growing popularity amongst Palestinian and Arab audiences in the Palestinian territories, Israel and parts of the Arab World. al-Barghouti is the son of renowned Palestinian poet and former political exile Mourid al-Barghouti. His mother is the Egyptian novelist Radwa Ashour. "Ever since I was a child, my interest in the Arabic language and in poetry was the result of may father's influence. My mother gave me two things, she gave me Egypt and she gave me the stability which is necessary for writing and for mental calm," al-Barghouti told Reuters after a poetry recital in the West Bank city of Bethlehem. Al-Barghouti was born in Cairo in 1977 and lived with his mother in Egypt for much of his life. Egyptian authorities expelled his father four months after Tamim was born. Mourid al-Barghouti lived in exile in Hungary until 1995, during which time Tamim could only see him for a few weeks at a stretch. Tamim al-Barghouti is also a political scientist, and studied politics at Cairo University, the American University in Cairo and Boston University, where he received his doctorate in 2004. He is a fellow at the Berlin Institute for Advanced Studies. He has worked at the United Nations Department of Political affairs, and wrote a weakly column on cultural and historical issues for the Lebanese English-language Daily Star. But he is best known for his poetry, much of which explores themes of diaspora, political conflict, national identity and loss. One of his best-loved poems is "In Jerusalem." His fame rose especially after recently participating in the television poetry competition "Prince of Poets," broadcast by the Abu Dhabi satellite channel and watched by millions of viewers around the Arab World. Al-Barghouti has published four poetry collections in Arabic. The first, "Meijana," was published in the West Bank city of Ramallah in 1999. He has participated in poetry events around the world and his work has appeared in international publications. Al-Barghouti believes poetry should be free of cryptic references and occult symbolism, but rather get its message across to the reader or listener clearly -- and offer a little entertainment as well. "I am one of those who believes poetry is written for the people, for those who listen to it. If my listener has enough knowledge of Arabic to enable him to read the newspaper, then it is my task to create a poem he will understand and will be entertained by. If the meaning of my poem does not come across clearly and if it does not entertain, then the fault is mine and not his. This is my goal with every poem and write, and I don't know how successful I've been in doing that." Al-Barghouti's admirers say his language is sophisticated without being contrived, and his analogies are drawn from everyday situations with which many of his listeners can identify. "He is creative, great, and really wonderful. It is an honour for Palestine to have Tamim, who depicts Palestine with his beautiful poetic portraits," said one of his fans at the Bethlehem recital. Al-Barghouti says the political history of Palestinians and Israeli occupation of Palestinian land inevitably influences the work of Palestinian artists. "Everything you do is influenced by notions of diaspora, the homeland, the cause, injustice and justice, and this all in turn effects how you hate, how you love and how you live in general. It therefore also effects how you speak, and since poetry is a form of speech, it effects how you write poetry." Al-Barghouti is writing a book on political identity in the Middle East. He is currently on tour in the West Bank.

ITN Source | September 23, 2007

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