Personal Info
- Country of residence: Palestine
Information
Abd al-Karim al-Karmi (1909 -
October 11, 1980), whose nickname was Abu Salma, and his nickname was Zaytouna
Falastin, is a Palestinian poet, writer, writer, and politician. He was born in
the Palestinian city of Tulkarm. He has a prominent position in Arabic
literature in poetry and prose, and one of the icons of contemporary Arab
literature. He is a member of the Palestinian National Council, head of the
Media Department of the Palestine Liberation Organization, president of the
General Union of Palestinian Writers and Journalists, and one of the founders
of the Union.
His upbringing and life
Abd al-Karim Saeed Ali Mansour
al-Karmi was born in the Palestinian city of Tulkarm in the summer of 1909. He
received his primary and preparatory education in the schools of his city,
Tulkarm, and his secondary education in al-Salt Secondary School for one year.
He finished high school in Anbar School in Damascus in 1927, then returned to
his city Tulkarm in the same year. He joined the Palestinian Institute of Law,
where he graduated and worked in the fields of teaching and law.
In 1936, the British authorities
dismissed him from teaching. He composed a poem published by the Cairo-based
Al-Risala magazine entitled (Oh Palestine) in which he attacked the British
authorities for their intention to build a palace for the British High
Commissioner on Jabal Mukabbir. The Director of British Education (Mr. Farel)
summoned him and informed him of his decision to dismiss him from work. . After
Abu Salma lost his teaching job in Jerusalem, his friend Ibrahim Touqan brought
him to the Palestinian Broadcasting House, and he continued to work in its
media apparatus until he resigned from his job.
Al-Karmi worked in the legal
profession, where he opened an office for him in 1943, and began his work by
defending the Arab militants accused in the cases of the Palestinian
revolution. In a short period of time, he became a prominent lawyer in
Palestine, and he continued to work in the field of law until 1948, when he
went to Damascus and practiced the profession of law and teaching there. Then
he worked in the Syrian Ministry of Information and contributed to many Arab,
Asian, African and international conferences.
Al-Karmi participated in the first
Palestinian Arab Conference held in Jerusalem on May 28, 1964, in which the
establishment of the Palestine Liberation Organization was declared.
Al-Karmi was appointed responsible
for Asian-African solidarity in the Palestine Liberation Organization, after
his participation as a delegate for the organization in the work of the
founding conference of the Asian-African Solidarity Organization, which was
held in Cairo in 1965. He also participated in many conferences, the most
important of which were the World Peace Council Conference, the Asian and
African Writers Union Conference, and others.
On December 1, 1978, the Palestine
Liberation Organization held a celebration for him in Beirut, in the presence
of the leaders of the organization and poets from a number of Arab countries,
on the occasion of receiving the Lotus Prize for Literature.
Abdul Karim al-Karmi was elected
president of the General Union of Palestinian Writers and Journalists during
the third conference of the Union in April 1980. The Union is one of the
institutions of the Palestine Liberation Organization.
his personal life
Abd al-Karim al-Karmi lived in a
family famous for its science. His father is the scientist, minister Saeed
al-Karmi, and his brothers are: the politician Abd al-Ghani al-Karmi, the
writer Ahmed Shaker al-Karmi, the linguist Hassan al-Karmi, and the writer
Mahmoud al-Karmi. As for his grandfather, Sheikh Ali Mansour Al-Karmi.
From the right to the left of the
image, in order: Abdul Karim Al Karmi, Saeed Al Karmi, and Abdul Ghani Al
Karmi.
Although Abu Salma married and had
his only son, Said, he never had a son, Salma, and thus this name remained just
a poetic title that accompanied him throughout his poetic journey from the time
he was in school until his name became the most famous.
His poetic collections
Divan "The Displaced",
1953.
A collection of "My Country
Songs", 1959.
"Children's Songs"
collection, 1964.
A collection of "From
Palestine, My Feather", 1971.
Complete Works, 1978.
Abdul Karim Al-Karmi.
His prose writings
The Struggle of the Palestinian
Arabs, 1964.
“Ahmed Shaker Al-Karmi’s Literary,
Critical and Fictional Effects”, 1964.
Saeed Al-Karmi, 1973.
The Revolution, a play.
His title
Abi Salma is known by his prominent
nickname, “The Olive of Palestine.” He is also known by a number of other
titles, including: “The Poet of Palestine” and “The Oak of Palestinian Poetry.”
his death
Abdul Karim Al-Karmi fell ill while he was in the Russian capital, Moscow, where he was to participate in one of the Solidarity Organization conferences. He was subsequently transferred to the hospital there, and he underwent surgery, but his health deteriorated, and Russian doctors, including his son, Doctor Saeed, made every effort to save him. His life, and after they despaired of his recovery, he was transferred to the United States of America, and after seven days there of attempts to save his life, he died, on October 11, 1980 at George Washington University Hospital in Washington, D.C., as a result of acute septicemia, and was buried in the Martyrs’ Cemetery in Damascus, a large official and popular funeral.
They said about him
Mahmoud Darwish said on the authority of Abu Salma: “You are the trunk on which our poems grew.”
During a large honoring ceremony for him in Beirut, on December 1, 1978, on the occasion of winning the Lotus Prize, Yasser Arafat said while embracing Abu Salma: “My brother, teacher, and teacher, Abu Salma, this day of honoring you is a tribute to Palestine through you, Palestine, the front trench of the Arab nation.”
The President of the Republic of Angola, Agostinho Neto, said while receiving the Lotus Karmic Award: “The Palestinian poet Abu Salma lived for the cause of his people and his homeland, and devoted his poetry to the causes of his tormented homeland, Palestine. And I say in the end, that despite his commitment to his cause, he did not forget the woman, so he loved her and flirted with her, and wrote many poems describing her, so that he was given the name of one of them.
On October 11, 2021, the 41st anniversary of his passing, the General Union of Palestinian Writers and Writers issued a statement saying: “Phrases, no matter how embellished, cannot engrave impulses that have perished on the walls of longing for him, who is the poet, the revolutionary, and the magnificent, high-ranking, in a homeland that is still He drinks from the river of his poetry the meanings of steadfastness, patience, and survival. Abu Salma was not a transient of life, nor a time-breaker, nor a flashing arrow that the sight would forget. His wonderful living, the constant remains with certainty in the record of the actors, and you have the respect of those who knew him, and learned from him, and his lights reached them in the abyss of darkness.
On October 11, 2022, on the 42nd anniversary of his death, the General Union of Palestinian Writers and Writers recalled Al-Karmi in a statement it issued in this regard, stating: “Oh, Abu Salma, and the country misses you. The years of your departure will pass, and forgetfulness will not tempt us to snooze to ignore you. How can it be? The castle of your glory.
of his poems
The poem “Lahab al-Qasid”, 1936
Spread on the flame of the poem the complaint of the slaves to the slaves
A complaint that time repeats tomorrow forever
And sympathize with Baghdad and mourn the throne of Harun al-Rashid
O kings of the Arabs, you were not kings in existence
Do you witness the inquisition in the new age
Arise, hear from every side the blood of the martyr cries out
Stand up and see the Qassam light shining over the saddles
He reveals to the world and those in it the secrets of eternity
Stand up and look at Farhan on his forehead, the mark of prostration
He walks towards the rope of martyrdom, fasting like lions
Seventy years for the sake of God and the truth
Youth is ashamed of old age, but years of decades
Arise and see the people between the promise lost and the intimidation
Between lying in prisons and a homeless exile
Arise and look at the sacrificial homeland from vein to vein
Generations crowd bloody steps around Lahoud
O people of the Arabs, you are the only source of hope
Walk on the muddy soil and follow the traces of grandparents
Human freedom is bought with blood, not with promises
O you who cherish the fever, revolt against the annihilating injustice
Rather, they freed him from kings and freed him from slaves
Achievements and Awards
Honors and awards
Abdul Karim Al-Karmi received a
number of honors and awards, the most prominent of which were:
Lotus International Prize for
Literature, 1978, and received from the President of the Republic of Angola,
Agostinho Neto, on July 1, 1979.
The Palestinian Revolution Medal, in
1980, which was the highest Palestinian honor at the time, as the head of the
Palestine Liberation Organization, Yasser Arafat, awarded him the medal in
early December 1980, during the commemoration of the forty days since his
death.
The Jerusalem Medal for Culture,
Arts and Literature, in 1990, from the Chairman of the Palestine Liberation
Organization, Yasser Arafat, in January 1990.
The Palestinian Culture, Science and
Arts Medal, with a degree of creativity, in 2015. The Palestinian President,
Mahmoud Abbas, awarded him the medal on September 14, 2015, “in appreciation of
his stature and active role in the Palestinian poetry movement, and his defense
of his homeland and people with the sincere word and courageous stance.” His
family received the medal on the 22nd. August 2016, during an international
cultural celebration attended by international writers and poets
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