A River Dies of Thirst: Diaries

‘Darwish has given expression to his people’s ordinary longings and desires.’ --The New York Times

‘These translations sway delicately between mystery and clarity, giving a rendition of the master’s voice.’ --Fady Joudah, winner of the Jackson Poetry Prize 2024, The Guardian

‘It is through the poetry of Darwish that one learns what it meant, and still means, to be a Palestinian with cultural roots that reach far back in time ... he fashioned a new literary Arabic that merged vernacular idioms with the classic language. His Arabic gave voice to the Palestinians who had been driven from their homeland, and with this voice Darwish created poetry of the highest order by any standard. He speaks for his people, but like all great poets he speaks for every human being.’ --New York Review of Books

‘Darwish's final poems are graced by a mood of disburdenment, a ghostly light-heartedness. It is as if the poet felt himself liberated at last from all his prior performances, or as if the long siege of history had momentarily lifted and set him free.’ --The National

‘Darwish’s poetry is one of the most powerful evocations of the Palestinian yearning for statehood, undogmatic but dogged in making his memories a reality.’ --Forward