Ibrahim Nasrallah

Ibrahim Nasrallah (Arabic: إبراهيم نصرالله‎‎; born 1954)^[1] is a Jordanian-Palestinian^[1] poet, novelist, professor, painter and photographer.

Nasrallah was born in the Wihdat refugee camp at Amman, Jordan. He studied in the UN agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) schools and at the UNRWA Teacher Training College in Amman.^[2] He taught in Saudi Arabia for 2 years in the Al Qunfudhah region and worked as a journalist between 1978 and 1996.^[2] Nasrallah then returned to Jordan and worked at Dostur, Afaq and Hasad newspapers. He is in charge of cultural activities at Darat-al-Funun in Amman. He has published 14 books of poetry, 13 novels and two children's books. In 2009 his novel The Time of White Horses was shortlisted for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction.^[2]

Nasrallah is a member of the Sakakini General Assembly. In 2006, Ibrahim Nasrallah decided to dedicate himself fully to his writing profession.

In January 2014, he succeeded in summiting Mount Kilimanjaro with a group of volunteers and two Palestinian adolescents who have lost their legs. The trip, the first of its kind with participation of an Arab author, came in support to charity work for Palestinian and Arab children in need of medical care.

Poetry

* A Ray of Light Between Two Nights, 2012. * If I were a maestro, 2009

• Flute Chamber, 2007
• Mirrors of Angels, 2001
• In the Name of the Mother and the Son, 1999. (ISBN 6140100445, Arab Scientific Publishers, 128 pages, 2010)
• The Book of Death and the Dead, 1998
• Verandahs of Autumn, 1997.
• Volume of Poetic Collection (1980-1993), 1994
• The Fox’s Scandal, 1993 (Published in English).
• Green Wood, 1991
• Storms of the Heart, 1989
• The River Boy and the General, 1987
• The Last Dialogue a Few Minutes Before the Killing of the Sparrow, 1984
• No’man Recovers His Color, 1984
• Morning Songs, 1984
• The Rain Inside, 1982 (ISBN 1931896526, Curbstone Books, 126 pages, 2009)
• Horses are Overlooking the City, 1980

Novels

• Prairies of Fever, Arabic edition 1985; English edition by Interlink 1993 (ISBN 156656106X), Italian edition by Edizioni Lavoro 2001, Hebrow edition by Hed Arzi in 2001, and Danish edition by Underskoven in 2006
• Terrestrial Waves, 1988
• The Barking Dog (Aw), 1990
• Just the Two of Us, Arabic edition 1992, Italian edition by Ilisso under the title "Dentro la notte" 2004, and English edition under the title "Inside the Night" (ISBN 9774160975) by The American University in Cairo Press, 2007
• The Guard of the Lost city, 1998
• Balcony of Delirium, 2005
• Balcony of Snow Man 2009
• Balcony of Disgrace 2010

Palestinian comedy covering 250 years of modern Palestinian history(7 novels)

• Birds of Caution, 1996.
• Eraser Child, 2000.
• Olive Trees of the Streets, 2002.
• Safe Weddings, 2004. (ISBN 9953876258, Arab Scientific Publishers, 2009)
• Under the Midmorning Sun, 2004. (English ISBN 9953-87-626-6, Arab Scientific Publishers, 2009)
• Time of White Horses, 2007. Shortlisted for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction, ISBN 977-416-489-X, Nancy Roberts(Translator), American University in Cairo Press (Publisher), 512 pages
• Lanterns of The King of Galilee, 2012.

Nasrallah has also written poetry for children in two collections:

• Good Morning Children, 1983.
• Good Things Called Home,1984.

As a writer and editor he has also published literary works about other Arab writers and poets which include:

• The Flying Autobiography; Less than an Enemy. More than a Friend. Author. 2006
• The Defeat of the Victors: The Cinema between Creativity and Market Demand. Author.
• The Art and the Artist: Jabra Ibrahim Jabra’s writings about fine art (editor) 2000.
• The Complete Poetry Collection of The Palestinian Poet Ahmad Hilmi Abdul-Baqui, (Researcher and Editor), 2002.

Nasrallah is a regular contributor to several to the main newspapers in the Arab World. He is also a painter and photographer. He has contributed to several exhibitions and had his own photography shows entitled “The Autobiography of an Eye” in 1996, and “Under Two Suns :Images and Words” in 2004, "The Life of the Dead Sea" a participation at the fifth Gwangju Biennale – South Korea 2004. Many academic theses handled his poetry and novels. The following dealt exclusively with his works: Nasrallah also had poetry reading at several cultural centers in metropolitan cities such as Paris, Rome, Venice, Frankfurt, Berlin, and cities in England Denmark, Switzerland and the United States of America ...., not to mention numerous literary activities in almost all Arabic capitals. Nasrallah also gave lectures and poetry readings at many of the local Jordanian universities as well Arabs and European universities.

Awards

He has won eight prizes

• In 2012 he won the inaugural (Jerusalem Award for Culture and Creativity) for his literary work.
• The prestigious Sultan Owais Literary Award for Poetry in 1997, a prize for Arab language poets.
• Three awards from the Jordanian Writers Association for the best volume of poetry.
• The Tayseer Sbool prize for his novels in 1994.
• The Arar literary Award, for Jordanian and Arab poets, Jordan, 1991.

Political persecution

In June 2006, Nasrallah's fourth collection of poetry "Nu’man Yastariddu Lawnahu" (Anemone Regains Its Colour) first published in 1984, was suddenly banned in Jordan, while Nasrallah faced charges of insulting the state, inciting dissension and reporting inaccurate information to future generations.

In an interview with The Guardian, Nasrallah commented on the charges he was facing by saying: "I was completely shocked,I did not know how to respond. All I could think of at that moment was that I needed to finish the book I was working on before things got worse. But I was unable to continue writing. I was confused and angry and also afraid."^[1]

References