Najwan Darwish


Najwan Darwish is a Palestinian poet described by The [New York Review of Books] as "one of the foremost contemporary Arab poets".
In 2009, Darwish was named as one of the Beirut39, a selection of 39 promising Arab writers. In 2014, NPR included his book Nothing More to Lose as one of the best books of the year. Named as "one of Arabic literature’s biggest new stars" Darwish's work has been translated into over 20 languages.

Career

Besides being a poet, Darwish is a cultural editor in the Arab world. He has played an important role in developing Arabic cultural journalism by co-founding independent magazines and mainstream daily newspapers, as well as being a sharp critic. He was the chief editor of Min Wa Ila Magazine in Palestine, and the cultural critic for Al Akhbar newspaper in Lebanon from 2006 to 2012, amongst other key positions in cultural journalism. In 2014 he became the founding chief editor of the cultural section of Al Araby Al Jadeed, a major pan-Arab daily newspaper based in London.
Darwish is active in diverse media, culture and art projects in Palestine and the Arab world. He was the literary advisor of MASARAT Palestine, the Palestinian Cultural and Artistic Year in Belgium alongside the late Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish who was the head of the committee. He was the literary advisor to the Palestine Festival of Literature.
In 2025 Darwish's poetry collection No One Will Know You Tomorrow was shortlisted for the PEN Heaney Prize.

Works and translations

Selected books in Arabic

Selected books in English

Selected books in Spanish

Critical reception

The critic, Issa J. Boullata, described Darwish's work as "a welcome change in poetic writing in Arabic".
"…A voice simultaneously so passionate and so matter-of-fact that it stops the breath I should warn you, perhaps, imaginary reader whose life differs so much from mine — whatever your views, politics, past experiences or lack of them — it will be impossible, by the time you have finished reading this collection, to escape a connection to Palestine." -Amal El-Mohtar,
"…This wide range of voices is behind much of Darwish's remarkable success as a poet: no Palestinian has ever written poetry quite like this before."
"Resistance is constant in the blood and in the memory --- but this poetry, ferocious as it can be, is also a lyrical, human acceptance of the antagonist, of the antagonists -- even those, for evil never sleeps, of the very own party, on the very own Soil. Such poetry does not play games, linguistic, critical, theoretical, does not address itself to the academies, but goes straight to the heart, straight to the point. And, on every page, in every line, the Lyric voice, the moving, self-questioning power, predominates."
"…One of Arabic literature’s biggest new stars."
“While his poetry is at times political, it embodies a universal message reminiscent of the great mystical poetry like Rumi.”
"Unlike Mahmoud Darwish, Najwan Darwish’s poems on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict venture beyond the quiet meditation or elegy Darwish stretches Rimbaud’s idea into ethnic identity. At various times, the speaker identifies as not only Palestinian but Kurd,
"Darwish unfolds his identity—personal and collective, Arab and universal. His poetry, like his city of birth Jerusalem, reveals a composite of histories. The people and places they contain seem to possess undisclosed details, and as readers uncover them piece by piece, they reveal a tapestry only Darwish could have woven." -Nathalie Handal,
"What Najwan Darwish is giving us here is an attempt at a new definition both of resistance and of what it means to be an Arab. The term Arab here is expanded seemingly indefinitely to include Kurds, Armenians, Iranians, Turks, etc. But this politics of inclusion does not shy away from decrying injustices." -Kareem James Abu-Zeid,
"The dynamic range of atmospheres, emotions, ideas, and perspectives with which Darwish engages in Nothing More to Lose does much to do justice to the complex, liminal body Palestine."

Selected anthologies

  • In Ramallah, Running By Guy Mannes-Abbott, Black Dog Publishing, London, 2012..
  • Printemps Arabes, Le Souffle et les Mots By Gilles Kraemer & Alain Jauson, Riveneuve Editions, France, 2012..
  • Voix Vives de Méditerranée en Méditerranée, Anthologie Sète 2011 Éditions Bruno Doucey, Paris, 2011..
  • Revolutionary Poets Brigade Edited by Jack Hirschman, Caza de Poesia, California, 2010
  • Beirut39 Bloomsbury Publishing, London, 2010
  • Wherever I Lie Is Your Bed Edited by Margaret Jull Costa and Marilyn Hacker, Center for the Art of Translation, San Francisco, 2009..
  • Language for A New Century, Contemporary Poetry from the Middle East, Asia, and Beyond By Tina Chang. W. W. Norton & Company, New York, 2008..
  • Le Poème Palestinien Contemporain, Le Taillis Pré, Belgium, 2008
  • Palabras Por la Lectura Edited by Javier Pérez Iglesias, Castilla-La Mancha, Spain, 2007
  • Pères by Taysir Batniji, with texts by Catherine David and Najwan Darwish, Loris Talmart, Paris, 2007..
  • En Tous Lieux Nulle Part Ici: Une Anthologie Edited by Henri Deluy, Le Blue Ciel, Coutras, 2006..

    Interviews

Throughout his two decades long literary career Darwish has rarely given interviews. When he was asked by the Polish magazine Katowice about this he responded with, “I say what I want to say in my poems. My true self is in them.”
Further interviews include:
  • The Guardian. By Alexia Underwood. January 4 2024.
  • The Federal. By Rajeev Ramachandran. February 7 2024.
  • Confronti World. By Francesca Bellino. July 27, 2022.
  • Al Jazeera. By Manash Firaq Bhattacharjee. March 27 2019.
  • The National. By Jessica Holland. May 27, 2013.
  • Modern Poetry in Translation. By Ali Al-Jamri.

    Videos