Personal Info
- Country of residence: Palestine
Information
Ghiath Al-Madhoun (born July 19, 1979) is a Palestinian- Syrian -Swedish poet . His works have been translated into many languages, including Swedish , German, Greek, Italian, English , Dutch , French , Spanish , Czech , Croatian , Albanian , Indonesian , Persian , and Chinese . His poetry has been part of many artists' works, for example, artist Jenny Holzer has exhibited his poetry in Denmark , the USA and Italy, and artist Blixa Bargeld has performed his poems in Norway and Greece.
His upbringing
Ghiyath was born in the Yarmouk camp in Syria to a Palestinian father from Gaza and a Syrian mother from Daraa . He did not have identification papers during the 29 years he spent in Syria, but he studied Arabic literature at the University of Damascus. Al-Madhoun decided to leave as soon as possible. The opportunity came to him through an invitation to a poetry evening in Sweden and a disgraced officer at a Syrian airport. He arrived in Sweden to request political asylum , and obtained citizenship after 3 years. Ghayath now lives between Berlin and Stockholm.
Regarding his upbringing and connection to Syria, Al-Madhoun says: “My memory of the place where I lived, crystallized and magnified as an expatriate. Usually when a person travels, his nostalgia is for the place he left.
It is natural for my nostalgia to be for Syria, not Palestine. Before Swedish citizenship, I did not see Palestine. I long for my memories. My experiences, my people, for everything I lived there. As for Sweden, it is my reality, whether I love it or hate it. It is the reality in which I am involved as a Swedish citizen, a taxpayer, and a passport holder. It is the only citizenship I have ever obtained in my life, even though I am a traveler in the literal sense of the word.” .
Despite this, he expressed his great attachment to Palestine as well, and said about that: “Palestine is everything. First and foremost, I am Palestinian, by origin and inheritance. I was born in Syria, not by choice, because the Palestinians paid their country as a solution and a tax to anti-Semitism in Europe . So the world decided to solve the Jewish issue at the expense of the Palestinian people. I was born as a refugee because the butcher Adolf Hitler made the final solution.” Al-Madhoun was able to visit Palestine for the first time after obtaining the Swedish passport.
His career
Al-Madhoun has published four poetry collections, the first of which is a four-volume poetry collection in Arabic that was published in 2004, and the last of which is “Adrenaline” in Milan 2017. In Sweden, his works were translated and published in two collections: “Asylansökan” (Asylum Request), which was awarded the “Klas de Vylders” Prize. (De Velder) for foreign writers. He also co-authored “Till Damaskus (2014)” (To Damascus) with Swedish poet Marie Silkeberg. The book was selected for the "Dagens Nyheters" list of the best new books in literary criticism, and was also adapted into a radio play on Swedish National Radio.
The book was also on the list of best-selling poetry books in Belgium in 2015 and 2017, and the book “I Am Here, You Are There” also reached the list of best-selling poetry books in Belgium in 2017. Al-Madhoun continued his partnership with Mary Silkbury and also produced many Poetic films, the latest of which was “Snow” in 2015.
Al-Madhoun published with the Dutch poet Anne Vigter the poetry collection “ik hier jij daar” (I am here, you are there) in Amsterdam in 2017.
A selection of his poems was translated into English by Catherine Cobham and published by Action Books in the United States of America under the name “Adrenaline”, on November 15, 2017. The collection “Adrenaline” was longlisted for the BTBA (Best Translated Book Award) in 2018, It was on the bestseller list for four months – December 2017, January 2018, February 2018 and January 2019.
A selection of poems by Ghiyath Al-Madhoun, translated into German by Larissa Bender as “Ein Raubtier namens Mittelmeer” (A predator called the Mediterranean), was also released on February 9, 2018. The book ranked first in the “Litprom-Bestenliste / Sommer 2018” list of the best Books translated into German. Al-Madhoun won the DAAD (Berlin-based artist) grant 2019-2020.
The main themes in Al-Madhoun's poetry are war, destruction, death, fighting, exile, and homesickness. Al-Madhoun draws a chronological arc between the first chlorine gas releases in World War I to the Syrian regime’s poison gas attacks. The heroes of his poems are the victims of the Syrian civil war , the wounded, the displaced, asylum seekers, and those who remained on the battlefield. His complex poems are nourished by the rich imagery of Arabic poetry as well as the traditions of European poetry.
His opinions [ edit ]
Al-Madhoun was not in Syria when the Syrian revolution began in 2011. He did not participate in it, and despite his support for it, he believes that “he does not deserve to be said to be part of the Syrian revolution” due to his inability to return to Syria for fear of death, but nevertheless He sees himself as “part of the consequences of the Syrian catastrophe that fell directly on me, because the destruction of Syria is the destruction of my memory and my place, and the killing of the Syrian people is the killing of my family and friends. Even if I was not a part of it, it was a part of me, even if I did not go to Syria.”
Al-Madhoun believes that “Damascus is ruled by one of the very traditional and classic dictatorships, which in my opinion is the harshest in the history of all dictatorships, compared to Pinochet in Chile, Saddam Hussein in Iraq, Gaddafi in Libya, and Ceausescu in Romania. I do not think there is a dictatorship that dared to do what he did.” Al-Assad father and son with the Syrian people.
Al-Madhoun does not see himself as having multiple identities, but rather sees himself as “very Arab, and his culture is linked to the Arabic language.”
Authors
“I Cannot Attend” by the Arab Foundation for Studies and Publishing, in 2014. [ 12] ISBN 9786144194416
Adrenaline, Mediterranean Publications, Milan, 2017. [13] ISBN 139788885771809
“A predator called the Mediterranean” is a poetry anthology in German.
“I am here, you are there,” a collection of poetry in Dutch, Jürgen Maass Publishing, Amsterdam
Achievements and Awards
Awards
Al-Mazraa Award 2005 for his collection “Poems That Were Accidentally Fallen.”
His book, “As the City Expands, My Room Narrows,” won the Damascus Capital of Arab Culture Award, 2008.
“Asylum Application,” translated into Swedish, won the Foreign Writer’s Award presented by the Swedish Writers’ Union.
The collection “To Damascus” was chosen among the critics’ list of the best books published in Sweden in 2014
The book “Adrenaline” was included in the BTBA’s long list for the Best Book Translated into English Award.
His book “A predator called the Mediterranean” topped the list of the best books translated into German, Litprom-Bestenliste / Sommer, summer 2018.
His film “Evian” won first prize at the German “Zebra” Film Festival in Berlin
Source
- Years in active
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