A Mountainous Journey: A Poet's Autobiography

Born in 1917 to the wealthy Palestinian Touqan family known for their accomplishments in many fields, Fadwa was restricted to remaining home at age 13. Her education was taken up by her brother who taught her poetry and encouraged her in becoming a distinguished poet. With the fall of Palestine in 1948, Fadwa's world opens up, allowing her to interact with male and female, colleagues, travel, and become politically aware. By 1967, her poetry had shifted from portraying women's hardships in the Arab world to the difficulties of life under Israeli occupation and she soon devoted herself to Palestinian causes. Her autobiography depicts her journey from a life of madated attire and seclusion to becoming a symbol of the Palestinian cause and "one of the most distinguished figures of modern Arabic literature."