Salman Masalha

Salman Masalha (1953-) (Arabic: سلمان مصالحة , Hebrew: סלמאן מצאלחה) is an Arab poet, writer, essayist and translator. He is citizen of Israel.

Biography

Masalha was born in 4 November, 1953 to a Druze family in Maghar, an Arab village in the Galilee, Northern Israel. After graduating from high school he moved to Jerusalem and has lived in the city since 1972. In the mid 70s he was imprisoned in a military jail for reasons of consciance.

Masalha studied at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and holds a Ph.D. degree in Arabic literature, for which he wrote a thesis on mythological aspects of ancient Arabic poetry. He taught Arabic language and literature at the Hebrew University and served as co-editor of the Concordance of Early Arabic Poetry. One volume of the concordance titled Six Early Arab Poets: New Edition and Concordance was published in 1999. [ [http://asiafrica.huji.ac.il/eng/research.html The Concordance of Early Arabic Poetry ] ]

Masalha is a bilingual writer who writes in both Arabic and Hebrew and publishes his writings in both languages. [Hannan Hever, [http://israel.poetryinternationalweb.org/piw_cms/cms/cms_module/index.php?obj_id=3148&x=1 "Not my Mother Tongue" ] ] Translations from his poetry are published in different other languages. [ [http://www.vqronline.org/author/5859/salman-masalha The Virginia Quarterly Review ] ]

Masalha is the author of seven volumes of poetry. Some of his Arabic and Hebrew poems have been performed to music and recorded by leading Israeli and Palestinian musicians, among them: Marwan Abado, Kamilya Jubran, Micha Shitrit, Yair Dalal and others. For his Hebrew book In Place, Hebrew: [חנן חבר [http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/pages/ShArtPE.jhtml?itemNo=400284&contrassID=2&subContrassID=12&sbSubContrassID=0 "לשון מתפצלת" ] , Haaretz ] אחד מכאן, he was awarded the President's Prize for Hebrew poetry. [ [http://www.president.gov.il/prnews/prevmes.asp?c=2&i=1829 פרס הנשיא לספרות] ]

Writing

Research

*Six Early Arab Poets, new edition and concordance, (co-author), Institute of Asian and African Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, The Max Schloessinger Memorial Series, Jerusalem 1999
*Mythological Aspects in Ancient Arabic Poetry (Hebrew: אספקטים מיתולוגיים בשירה הערבית הקדומה), Ph.D thesis, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (1998)

Poetry

*Lughat Umm (Mother Tongue, Arabic: لغة أم), Zaman Publications, Jerusalem 2006
*Ehad Mikan (In Place, Hebrew: אחד מכאן), Am Oved Publications, Tel Aviv 2004
*Khana Farigha, (Blank Space, Arabic: خانة فارغة), Zaman Publications, Jerusalem 2002.
*Rish al-Bahr (Sea Feathers, Arabic: ريش البحر), Zaman Publications, Jerusalem 1999
*Maqamat Sharqiyya (Oriental Scales, Arabic: مقامات شرقيّة), Jerusalem 1991
*Ka-l-'Ankabut bila Khuyut (Like a Spider without Webs, Arabic: كالعنكبوت بلا خيوط), Jerusalem 1989
*Maghnat Ta’ir al-Khuddar (Green Bird Song, Arabic: مغناة طائر الخضّر), al-Katib Publications, Jerusalem 1979

Translations

Arabic into Hebrew
*Mahmoud Darwish, Memory for Forgetfulness (Arabic: ذاكرة للنسيان, Hebrew: זכר לשכחה), with commentary and epilogue, Schocken Publications, Tel Aviv 1989
*Sahar Khalifah, Wild Thorns (Arabic: الصبّار, Hebrew: הצבר), Galileo Publications, Jerusalem 1978

Hebrew into Arabic
*Ifraim Sidon, Uzu and Muzu (Hebrew: אוזו ומוזו מכפר קאקרוזו, Arabic: أوزو وموزو من كفر كاكاروزو), Nazareth 2000
*Jerusalem, Historical Studies (Arabic: القدس، دراسات في تاريخ المدينة), ed. Amnon Cohen, Yad Izhak Ben-Zvi Publications, Jerusalem 1990
*Dror Green, The Intifadah Tales (Hebrew: אגדות האינתפאדה, Arabic: حكايا الانتفاضة), Jerusalem 1989
*Haim Gouri, "Selected Poems, with an Introduction" (Arabic: خلخال ينتظر الكاحل), Masharef, No. 30, pp 204-231, 2007
*Aharon Shabtai, "Schizophrenic Homeland", (Arabic: شيزوفرينيا الوطن), selected poems with an introduction, Masharef, No. 23, pp 94-118, 2004
*Agi Mishol, "Selected Poems", Masharef, No. 17, pp 159-169, 2002

English into Arabic
*Breyten Breytenbach, "selected poems", Masharef, No. 15, Haifa-Jerusalem, pp. 7-18 (1997)
*Wislawa Szymborska, "selected poems", Masharef, No. 13, Haifa-Jerusalem , pp. 82-96 (1997)
*Seamus Heaney, "selected poems", Masharef, No. 5, Haifa-Jerusalem, pp. 111-116, 1995

Editing

*Biblical Stories in Islamic Paintings (Arabic: قصص التّوراة في الرسومات الإسلامية), Israel Museum 1992

Sources

External Links

* [http://israel.poetryinternationalweb.org/piw_cms/cms/cms_module/index.php?obj_id=3177 Poetry International Web]
* [http://library.osu.edu/sites/users/galron.1/00725.php Modern Hebrew Literature - a Bio-Bibliographical Lexicon]
* [http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/766045.html A Homeland to All its Cetizens] , Haaretz, September 22, 2006
* [http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=745759&contrassID=2&subContrassID=14&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y The Apache War] , Haaretz, August 4, 2006
* [http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=subjects&Area=reform&ID=SP80704 The Arab Man is the Problem,The Arab Woman is the Solution] , MEMRI, Special Dispatch Series - No. 807
* [http://books.guardian.co.uk/departments/poetry/story/0,,2280675,00.html In The Dark Room] , The Guardian, May 17, 2008
* [http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=932623 Patches of Color] , Haaretz, December 7, 2007
* [http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1019886.html He made a homeland of words] , Haaretz, Sep. 5, 2008
* [http://www.eurozine.com/articles/1999-11-02-anthology3-en.html Poems in Eurozine]