Palestine is no ordinary place. In the past century its geography has radically changed, turning Palestinians into a fragmented nation. Displacement is a central theme in Palestinian literature, giving a voice to those living in exile, feeling out of place or fearing to become victims of the map. Three Palestinian writers read from their work and discussed how the radically altered geography has affected their personal and artistic lives. Xavier Luffin, professor of Arabic language and literature at ULB has led the discussion.
Ghayath Almadhoun (1979) was born in a Palestinian refugee camp, he moved to Sweden a few years ago. Adrenalin, the first English translation of his poetry was published in 2017 by Action Books in the US. The book was for three months at the Small Press Distribution list of Poetry Bestsellers.
Selma Dabbagh (1970) was born in Dundee, Scotland to a Palestinian father and an English mother. She has lived between the Gulf and Europe for most of her life and currently lives in London. She has written a BBC radio play, published several short stories and an acclaimed novel Out of It, that centres around a fragmented family spread between Gaza, London and the Gulf.
Karim Kattan (1989) is a writer who lives between Bethlehem and Paris, where he is completing his Phd in comparative literature. In 2014, he founded el-Atlal, a yearly residency in Jericho for artists and writers. He has written among others for The Paris Review, Vice’s i-D, and The Funambulist. His first novel Préliminaires pour un verger futur, was published in 2017 by Elyzad.