Contemporary literary work by the young Palestinian generation
expresses the writers' ideas on a variety of issues pertaining to
present Palestinian life in its political, social and psychological
aspects. However, the ideas are not definitive or crystallized. In
this case, the literary and the political have gone hand in hand,
as the new literary output mirrors the ambiguity that also typifies
the political scene. In other words, the intellectual vagueness and
confusion among the youth is, naturally, articulated by writers and
authors among them.
The literary writings that made their appearance during the 1990s,
especially since 1993 (the Oslo agreement) are works by young
authors trying to forge their own way. Only a few of them come
close to finding an individual creative voice, giving authenticity
to their feelings, thoughts, and attitudes towards life, the
homeland, woman and other contemporary issues. The bulk of the
authors are still in the formative stages, grappling with
rebellion, imitation, experimentation, and attempts to prove
themselves at all cost. All are influenced by the impact upon
society of the changing political climate, with its implications on
public and private levels.
In the context of this ambiguity in the literary form, as well as
in the intellectual, human, social and psychological content, we
can note the trends of the young generation of Palestinian writers
in the various genres: the short story, poetry and the novel.
The Short Story
Among the writers of short stories that have achieved recognition
on the literary scene in recent years are Ziad Khaddash, Saleh
Masharqah, Jamal Qawasmi and Iman Al-Basseer.
In his collected short stories, A Foul Appointment with the Storm
(Arabic), Ziad Khaddash evokes the issue of the alienation of the
Palestinian individual, especially the youth, in light of the
political and social changes. Thus, he writes with considerable
bitterness about those in the society around him who are
marginalized and as yet incapable of digesting the change to which
they are subject. As a consequence, his characters are
apprehensive, skeptical of the political process, angry especially
with the conduct of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) and
its men, against the backdrop of Palestinian poverty and
unemployment. His characters are equally angry with the various
aspects of the Israeli occupation, direct or indirect, which the
peace process has failed to bring to an end.
In his critical mood, Khaddash focuses on the erotic dimension.
This can be seen especially in the short stories written with the
city of Ramallah as setting. It would seem that in these romantic
and sexual associations political repression has found a social and
psychological outlet. And while the preoccupation with the self
manifests itself more honestly in his writings than his attempt to
persuade the reader of a specific political stance - he has taken a
position against normalization with Israel - Khaddash fails as a
young Palestinian writer to offer any new option in his
writings.
Saleh Masharqah deals with reality in isolation of any specific
event. He captures bucolic characters and dwells on describing and
reminiscing about dramatic tableaux from the past, and it is the
past that influences his assessment of the present. This kind of
retrospection is a form of escapism, especially when the author
approaches his subject from an objective perspective and lacks the
subjectivity characterizing the work of Ziad Khaddash.
In Jamal Qawasmi, who wrote his short story Ashjan about the
Intifada, in addition to several other stories, we can sense a
greater shift than in the rest of the young authors towards
subjectivism, nearing on the sarcastic, the absurd and the
mythical. The woman is ever present in his writings, but his
linguistic audacity and his breaking of taboos have gone to such
extremes that he has faced difficulties having some of his works
published. At the same time, we see a humanistic trend in his
writings concerning his perception of the Other - the Israeli -
whom Qawasmi portrays as an ordinary human being. Qawasmi also
tried to experiment with a new approach to the short story by
portraying the ordinary Palestinian individual, with all his/her
foibles, frustrations and ambitions, deviating thus from the
traditional depiction of the Palestinian as the fighter and the
rebel. In other words, in his work, Qawasmi looks at the humanity
of the Palestinian and the Israeli alike.
Among the young women writers who have made a name for themselves
is Iman Al-Basseer. Before Oslo, she wrote stories with a national
bent, yet the human element was ever present, hovering between the
romantic, the social critique and the psychological analysis - all
this projected against the background of suffering under the
occupation. After Oslo, Al-Basseer published a collection of
stories entitled Jasad Min Bakhour (Body of Incense) where she trod
a more humanistic path, emphasizing the social dimension,
influenced by modernistic concepts, especially issues pertaining to
women and gender.
The peace process has had its impact on Palestinian society,
socially and economically. Issues of mismanagement by the PNA of
political and economic life, and topics like wealth and poverty,
freedom of women, the job market, consumerism, political and
ideological contradictions - all these have had their mark on the
young writers. That is why writings about the "resistance" have
dwindled and the concept of the Other has become more objective,
making a distinction between the occupier and the ordinary Israeli
who believes in peace and coexistence. At the same time, these
young people are finding the moment propitious to rebel against the
new reality in view of their marginalization, social and literary,
which they perceive as being the result of an official
policy.
Poetry
Among the foremost trends in poetry is a move towards modernism on
all levels - be it a mature, conscious modernism, or one which is
merely imitative. The national, political discourse has receded
noticeably and now the homeland is merely implied. The patriotic
poem has given way to the romantic, focusing on the woman, as well
as on the aesthetics of the language and poetic imagery. A
preoccupation with social and intellectual matters predominates
more in the short story than in the poem, possibly because of the
traditional rhythmic nature of the poem.
Among the young poets is Khaled Abdallah, who has published
modernistic poems viewed by critics and readers as
incomprehensible. Khaled deals with the locale, woman and love,
shunning any political or nationalistic theme. Khaled Juma'a,
another young modern poet, also treats topics of human interest in
his writings for both adults and children.
Abdel Nasser Saleh, on the other hand, exemplifies a slow change in
style, structure and content. For years he was known for his
political poems of resistance. However, this form of an explicit
expression of resistance to the occupation has become critically
unacceptable after Oslo, as this stage calls for a style more in
keeping with the structural and intellectual changes that have
taken place on the ground. This poet did not find it easy to adjust
so readily to the new trend.
Muhammad Hilmi Al-Rishah did not encounter this difficulty. His
work has seen a rapid shift towards existential and romantic
topics. Nevertheless, he kept on raising the issue of the Other,
albeit with decreasing frequency, especially in his more recent
work.
The women poets that have come to the fore in the last six years
are Ghada Shafi'i, Sumayya Al-Soussi and Manal Al-Noujoum. The
first has passed through the stage of patriotic/national poetry,
but her major themes now deal with the human dimension in general,
and with women's issues, in particular: the woman with a right to
self-expression, and the right to delve into poetic areas dealing
with the soul, the body and her internal feelings.
The Novel
One young novelist who has achieved recognition is Atef Abu-Seif
who is also a poet and critic. His interests center around human
and intellectual issues for which he chose the novel as a suitable
vehicle.
Another young voice is Ahmad Rafik Awad, who has recorded the
social, political, and intellectual changes of Palestinian society
since the sixties. His orientation is historical-analytical at
times and critical at others. After Oslo, he published a novel
dealing with the social and economic impact after the establishment
of the PNA. Through his novel we can perceive the strong critical
trend regarding the practices of the leadership and those close to
them. The author chose Ramallah as a fertile setting for his
criticism. At the same time, his concept of the Israeli remains
ambiguous or neutral.
In general, the connection between political slogans and literature
is weakening. The writings of young Palestinians show a clear
preoccupation with the self, the society and the place of the
individual in it, as well as with a feeling of alienation and
futility in their quest for self-fulfillment. Therefore, we can say
that these short stories, poems and novels are writings in search
of a voice more than their being a genuine and total expression of
the youth regarding issues of humanity, of the individual, of the
national and nationality. The yet-unformed artistic structure of
this literary output is a strong indication of the absence of a
crystallized vision among the young generation in its strivings to
answer questions about humanity, politics and other contemporary
issues. These young writers lack the necessary maturity and are
still under the sway of passivity and impressionability. In other
words, this is not yet a youth that constitutes the intellectual
vanguard of its society.