Personal Info
- Country of residence: Palestine
Information
Alaa Mufid Muhanna is a Palestinian novelist, poet and journalist. He was born in the village of Al-Baqi’a in the Upper Galilee in 1981. He won the Qattan Award for Best Palestinian Novelist in 2009 for his novel “My Sanctuary.” He has a book of poetry under the title “The Feather of Absurdity” and a lengthy poem entitled “The Mystery of Visions of Revelation” is under publication.
Graduate Studies: Holds a BA in Islamic and Middle East Studies from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
High School: He completed his high school studies at Ma Elias College in the village of Iblin.
Preparatory stage: He completed his preparatory studies in his hometown of Peqi’a.
Alaa grew up in the Galilee village of Al-Baqi’a in an educated and patriotic family. He is the son of the communist writer and journalist Mufid Muhanna. He began writing at the age of ten. He wrote the vertical poem and the tafila poem since his youth, but his first publication was a prose novel.
When he reached puberty, he refused to appear for the compulsory conscription in the Israeli army, which was imposed on the members of his Arab Druze sect. Then he moved to live in Jerusalem, and the holy city occupied an important place in his life and in his writing alike.
He founded, edited and published with his colleagues at the university the cultural and artistic magazine “Hawamash”, which was distributed in thousands of copies in Palestine and several Arab capitals.
In 2009, he won the “Abdul Mohsen Al-Qattan Award” for the best Palestinian novelist for his novel “Maqdisiyah Ana”, which was published by Al-Ahlia House for Publishing and Distribution in 2011.
He participated in many literary, political and national festivals in Palestine and the Arab world.
He founded with many writers in the Palestinian interior the Palestinian Writers Union 48 and was elected to be a member of the union administration.
«This novel enters thorny areas that have rarely been paid attention to as a novelist, as it conveys an important aspect of the life of a Palestinian student segment in Jerusalem (Israeli identity holders) and the suffering they face regarding identity, the meaning of struggle and its methods. The novel involves violent self-criticism, and an attempt to rebel against the stereotypes made by sects, clans, and occupation as well. It also raises vital and fateful questions that affect various walks of life, and there is rebellion... clear characters, and an interesting narration. This novel, which indicates a promising talent, is also distinguished by the fact that it presents the political reality of the Palestinian in his relationship with the wall, the fragmentation of indigenous communities, and their social problems.
Achievements and Awards
- Years in active
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