BZU professor releases new book

A new book was released by Professor of Literature and Modern Criticism at Birzeit University Dr. Ibrahim Mousa. The medium-sized, 274-page book, entitled “Scenery of Jerusalem in Modern Palestinian Poetry,” was published by the Kul Shee Library in Haifa.

“The book approaches the manifestations of Jerusalem in modern poetry, exploring its images and religious, mystic, and historical dimensions, as well as its identity. The book also examines manifestations of collective memory, the motherly figure, love, resistance, the occupation’s brutal destruction and killings, and its attempt to forcibly displace an entire country from its land, or to banish it outside of the realms of time and place,” said Dr. Mousa of the book.

The book comprises three chapters. The first one is entitled “Jerusalem between Inscriptions of the Identity and the Conflagration of the Resistance in Mahmoud Darwish’s Poetry,” the second is entitled “Gratitude of Jerusalem in the Poetry of Ali Al Khalil,” and the third is entitled “The Spiritual Configuration of Jerusalem in Modern Palestinian Poetry.”

The book also comprises a detailed statistical annex of references to Jerusalem in the published poems of modern Palestinian poets.

Dr. Mousa has authored a veritable collection of books and studies in poetry, heritage, and literary criticism. He was the recipient of the 2015 Palestine State Award in Social Studies and Humanities – considered one of the most coveted literary awards in Palestine – for his book “Manifestations of the Homeland and Introspection in the Poetry of Kamal Nasser.”