Mahmoud Darwish

Mahmoud Darwish was born in 1942 in the village of al-Birweh in Galilee, Palestine. His family fled to Lebanon in 1948 when the Israeli Army destroyed their village. He published around thirty poetry and prose collections, which have been translated into thirty-five languages and founded and edited the prestigious literary review Al Karmel. Darwish was awarded the Lenin Peace Prize, the Lannan Prize for Cultural Freedom, the Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres and the Prince Claus Fund Award. He died in August 2008.