Samīħ al-Qāsim al Kaissy (; ; 1939 – August 19, 2014) was a
Palestinian poet
with Israeli citizenship whose work is well known throughout the
Arab world
The Arab world ( '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, comprises a large group of countries, mainly located in West Asia and North Africa. While the majority of people in ...
. He was born in
Transjordan and later lived in
Mandatory Palestine
Mandatory Palestine was a British Empire, British geopolitical entity that existed between 1920 and 1948 in the Palestine (region), region of Palestine, and after 1922, under the terms of the League of Nations's Mandate for Palestine.
After ...
and
Israel
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
. Before the
Six-Day War
The Six-Day War, also known as the June War, 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states, primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, Syria, and Jordan from 5 to 10June ...
in 1967 he was mainly influenced by
Arab nationalism
Arab nationalism () is a political ideology asserting that Arabs constitute a single nation. As a traditional nationalist ideology, it promotes Arab culture and civilization, celebrates Arab history, the Arabic language and Arabic literatur ...
; after the war he joined the
Israeli Communist Party.
Early life
Al-Qasim was born in 1939 to a
Druze
The Druze ( ; , ' or ', , '), who Endonym and exonym, call themselves al-Muwaḥḥidūn (), are an Arabs, Arab Eastern esotericism, esoteric Religious denomination, religious group from West Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic ...
family in the
Emirate of Transjordan (now
Jordan
Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...
), in the northern city of
Zarqa, while his father served in the
Arab Legion of
King Abdullah.
He came from a Druze family from the town of
Rameh in the
Upper Galilee.
Al-Qasim attended primary school there and then later graduated from secondary school in
Nazareth
Nazareth is the largest Cities in Israel, city in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. In its population was . Known as "the Arab capital of Israel", Nazareth serves as a cultural, political, religious, economic and ...
.
His family did not flee Rameh during the
1948 Palestinian expulsion and flight (Nakba), which occurred in the midst of the invasion of multiple Arab armies aiming to defend the fleeing Palestinians.
[A Bilingual Anthology of Arabic Poetry - Victims of A Map'' by Samih al-Qasim, Adonis, and Mahmoud Darwish. Al-Saqi Books 26 Westbourne Grove, London W2 1984] In his book ''About Principles and Art'', he explains:
While I was still at primary school the Palestinian tragedy occurred. I regard that date as the date of my birth, because the first images I can remember are of the 1948 events. My thoughts and images spring from the number 48.
Professional career
Al-Qasim starts his professional career as a government teacher at primary schools in Galilee and al-Karmel. We was dismissed by the Israeli Education Minister due to his activism for the Palestinian people. He would go on to work odd after his dismissal. He would go on to become a journalist in the 1960s. Al-Qasim would eventually join al-Ittihad, a Communist Party influenced daily newspaper. Al-Qasim will go on to become an elected member of the party's central committee. Al-Qasim would later work for the Communist Party published magazine, al-Jadid in the early 1970s. He would later leave due the magazine due to dispute with the Communist Party leadership on its attitude towards Mikhail Grobachev led Soviet Union.
Life as a poet and journalist
Al-Qasim would begin composing poetry early in life. His first publication of poems, Peagents of the Sun, was published when he was nineteen years old.
By 1984, al-Qasim had written twenty-four volumes of
nationalist
Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...
poetry and published six collections of poems. His poems in general are relatively short, some being no more than just two verses.
Some of his famous poems include:
*''Slit Lips''
*''Sons of War''
*''Confession at Midday''
*''Travel Tickets''
*''Bats''
*''Abandoning''
*''The Story of a City''
*''Conversation between Ear of Corn and Jerusalem Rose Thorn''
*''How I became an Article''
*''Story of the Unknown Man''
*''End of a Discussion with a Jailer''
*''The Will of a Man Dying in Exile''
*''The Boring Orbit''
*''The Clock on the Wall''
Al-Qasim contributed to the journals of ''
Al-Ittihad'', ''Al-Jadid'', ''Index'' and others.
He was among the regular contributors of the ''
Lotus'' magazine of the
Afro-Asian Writers Association.
He claimed that the
pan-Arab ideology of
Nasserism
Nasserism ( ) is an Arab nationalism, Arab nationalist and Arab socialism, Arab socialist List of political ideologies, political ideology based on the thinking of Gamal Abdel Nasser, one of the two principal leaders of the Egyptian Revolution ...
impressed him during the nationalist post-1948 era.
Most of his poetry relates to the change of life before and after the Nakba, the Palestinian and broader Arab struggle to free their lands from foreign influence, Arab nationalism, and various Arab tragedies. In 1968, he published his first collection of poetry, ''Waiting for the Thunderbird''.
Al-Qasim wrote about these subjects while they were at the climax of their popularity among the Arab population in the later half of the 20th century. When asked by his
Iraq
Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
i friend, poet
Buland al-Haidari if he had visited
Baghdad
Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...
, he replied by saying he did not have to, since he views any Arab city as equal to his own Arab residence.
Political influence
Al-Qasim claimed that the
pan-Arab ideology of
Nasserism
Nasserism ( ) is an Arab nationalism, Arab nationalist and Arab socialism, Arab socialist List of political ideologies, political ideology based on the thinking of Gamal Abdel Nasser, one of the two principal leaders of the Egyptian Revolution ...
impressed him during the nationalist post-1948 era.
He was jailed several times for his political activities that involved advocacy for Palestinian rights and dissent against government policies, starting in 1960 for refusal to enlist in the Israeli army which is required of Israeli Druze. He was held under house arrest from 1963 until 1968.
He joined the Israeli Communist party
Hadash in 1967
and was detained along with other members of the party at the outbreak of the
Six-Day War
The Six-Day War, also known as the June War, 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states, primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, Syria, and Jordan from 5 to 10June ...
. He was sent to al-Damoun prison (official name:
Damon Prison) in
Haifa
Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area i ...
. During this time, he virtually lost his nationalistic emotions upon hearing Israeli radio announcing its territorial gains after their victory.
Life in Israel
Al-Qasim worked as a journalist in
Haifa
Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area i ...
where he ran the Arabesque Press and the Folk Arts Centre and was the editor-in-chief of the Israeli Arab newspaper ''
Kul al-Arab''. He would recite many of his poems to large audiences at monthly gatherings in the Arab towns and cities of the
Galilee. Al-Qasim refused to leave Israel; in an interview with ''Index'' he is quoted as saying "I have chosen to remain in my own country not because I love myself less, but because I love my country more".
Al-Qasim visited Syria in 1997 and in 2000. He was prevented by Israeli authorities from leaving to Lebanon for a poetry event in 2001.
Death
Al-Qasim died on August 19, 2014 in Safad Hispital, after a long battle with cancer. His funeral was held on August 21, 2014, in
Rameh where it was attended by thousands.
Notes
External links
Sadder Than Water: New & Selected Poems by Samih al-Qasim, translated by Nazih Kassis, introduced by Adina Hoffman. 2006.
Samih al-Qasim BiographySamih al-Qasim: Equal Parts Poetry and Resistance by Shawqi Kassis, Journal of Palestine Studies, Vol. 44, No. 2 (Winter 2015), pp. 43–51
{{DEFAULTSORT:Qasim, Samih al-
1939 births
Israeli Arab nationalists
Palestinian Arab nationalists
Palestinian male poets
Arab citizens of Israel
Israeli Druze people
2014 deaths
20th-century Palestinian poets
People from Zarqa
Deaths from cancer in Israel
Arab people in Mandatory Palestine