Poetry from former national poet of Palestine, illustrated by original drawings by John Berger

Mahmoud Darwish was the Palestinian national poet. One of the greatest poets of the last half-century,his work evokes the loss of his homeland and is suffused with the pain of dispossession, exile and loss. His poems also display a brilliant acuity, a passion for and openness to the world and, above all, a deep and abiding humanity. Here, his close friends John Berger and Rema Hammami present a beautiful new translation of two of Darwish's later works, his long masterpiece Mural, a contemplation of his life and work written following life-threatening surgery, and his last poem, "The Dice Player," which Darwish read in Ramallah a month before his death. Illustrated with original drawings by John Berger, Mural is a testimony to one of the most important and powerful poets of our age.

"Did as much as anyone to forge a Palestinian nationalconsciousness." - The Guardian

"The most celebrated writer of verse in the Arab world." - The New York Times

"an exquisitely designed book, enhanced by several ofBerger's evocative drawings . Mural is a spiralling and circuitous poem, alivewith swerves and sly twists, moving along corridors that dead-end only to openout unexpectedly into detours and hidden passageways. That single adjective,conspicuous in Darwish's spare style, presages the very structure of Mural." - Bookforum