Shahadat's Contemporary Literature in Translation Series features works in translation by six poets and writers from Gaza. This issue brings together an array of voices and forms, presenting audiences with a literary perspective on a land that has been subjected to over two decades of occupation.
In his “Ode to Gaza,” celebrated Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish links Gazan literary production with its unique history: “We are unfair to her when we search for her poems. Let us not disfigure the beauty of Gaza. The most beautiful thing in her is that she is free of poetry at a time when the rest of us tried to gain victory with poems...” The works of contemporary Gazan writers translated here grapple with the personal and communal experiences of their history.