ELMESSIRI, A.M. (ed.)
The Palestinian Wedding. A Bilingual Reader of Resistance Poetry

Poetry has long been Palestine’s most vital art form – a space where memory is safeguarded and resistance given voice. Spanning a century of upheaval and endurance, The Palestinian Wedding brings together 21 major poets in a powerful bilingual anthology. From the charged lyricism of Tawfiq Zayyad to the expansive imagery of Walid al-Halis; from the romantic cadences of Salma al-Jayyusi to the profound rootedness of Mahmoud Darwish, these poems chart the emotional and political landscape of modern Palestine. Together, they reveal a tradition in which love of land, grief, defiance and hope are inseparable.

Edited, translated and introduced by the eminent scholar A.M. Elmessiri, the collection – first published in 1982 – is arranged around six central themes – revolution, war, elegy, belonging, resistance and steadfastness – offering readers both an essential literary archive and a vital lens on Palestinian cultural history.

With a new foreword by Asmaa Azaizeh.

A.M. Elmessiri (1938–2008) was an Egyptian scholar, writer and political organiser. Elmessiri had an MA in English and comparative literature from Columbia University and a PhD from Rutgers University. During his academic career, he was professor at Ain Shams University, King Saud University, Kuwait University and at the International Islamic University in Malaysia.

[publishers’ note]

Bilingual English / Arabic.

Published by Saqi Books, 2026
Anthologies / Poetry