Salman Masalha

Salman Masalha (1953-) (Arabic: سلمان مصالحة , Hebrew: סלמאן מצאלחה) is a poet, writer, essayist and translator. He is Druze citizen of Israel. Masalha is a bilingual writer who writes in Arabic and Hebrew, and publishes in both languages.^[1] His poetry has also appeared in other languages.^[2]

1 Biography
2 Writing career
3 Writing
4 References
5 External links

Biography

Masalha was born on November 4, 1953 to a Druze family in Maghar, a village in the Galilee in Northern Israel. After graduating from high school he moved to Jerusalem, where he has been living since 1972. Masalha studied at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and holds a Ph.D. degree in Arabic literature. He wrote his thesis on the mythological elements 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.^[3]

Writing career

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.

In 2006, Masalha won the President's Prize for his collection of Hebrew poetry In Place.^[4]

Writing

Essays

The City of the Walking Flower, Poetry International Web
He made a homeland of words, Haaretz, Sep. 5, 2008
The Arab Man is the Problem,The Arab Woman is the Solution, MEMRI, Special Dispatch Series - No. 807
The Apache War, Haaretz, August 4, 2006.
No light at the end of the tunnel, Haaretz, January 19, 2011.

Research

Between the Lines, (Arabic: Fahm al-Mantuq), digital edition, Elaph Library 2010
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, also known: Beirut Diary (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

Efraim 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

References

^ Hannan Hever, "Not my Mother Tongue"
^ The Virginia Quarterly Review
^ The Concordance of Early Arabic Poetry
^ Hebrew University press release

External links

Poetry International Web
A Homeland for All its Citizens, Haaretz, September 22, 2006
In The Dark Room, The Guardian, May 17, 2008
Patches of Color, Haaretz, December 7, 2007
Poems in Eurozine

Persondata
Name	Masalha, Salman
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Date of birth	1953
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