Name: In the Presence of Absence
Rating: 4.25 (8 reviews)
ISBN: 9781935744016

Maḥmūd Darwīsh

"Darwish is to be read with urgency, in the night, when nothing else moves but his lines." ?The Village Voice By one of the most transcendent poets of this generation, a remarkable collection of prose poems that explores themes of love, pain, isolation, and connection. In this self-eulogy written in the final years of Mahmoud Darwish's life, Palestine becomes a metaphor for the injustice and pain of our contemporary moment. Mahmoud Darwish (1941-2008) was one of the most acclaimed poets in the Arab world. His poetry collections include Why Did You Leave the Horse Alone? and A River Dies of Thirst (Archipelago Books). In 2001 Darwish was awarded the Lannan Cultural Freedom Prize.

In the Presence of Absence

Prolonged my read because some chapters blurred (with my tears). I realized that I make myself home in between these words and long to be back and placed between arms, near the warmth and beating heart. Perhaps a place, perhaps my mother's embrace. Rest in love, Mahmoud Darwish. 

To sit idly and wait for a return home, to find it no longer and never will be the same. What once was couldn't be revived, acceptance is the only choice, accompanied by grief. 

Anya Lai

sani

“what kind of a linguistic or legal wunderkind could formulate a peace treaty and good neighborliness between a palace and a shack, between a guard and a prisoner?”


this book by mahmoud darwish was so sad, so melancholic as it talked about palestine and it was in itself a masterpiece. the quotes. the words. the sentiments. i’m gonna ugly sob because his words are so precious.

eliz

4.5 o 5


  "When asleep, you are your own overlord and sovereign. Alive, but without life's burdens."


  "...you tell reality: You are only a figment, and tell imagination: You are the only reality I can depend on."


  "You lived at zero, perhaps less, perhaps more."


one of the most difficult things I have read this year and in my entire reading journey generally. challenging to a great extent but always worth the time delving through the meaning behind the metaphors thrown down on every corner of every chapter. it's either you get lost in between words and sentences or find yourself floating on top of them and see it through with outmost clarity. I think the best way to understand the context/sense of this whole thing is to consume the writing yourself first-hand and let the writing consume you.

more excerpts:
"And you must defend the discrete letters of your name as a cat would its kittens. Do what you must: defend the window's right to look at passerby. Do not ridicule yourself if you are incapable of providing proof."
*
"Letters are restless, hungry or an image, and the image is thirsty for a meaning. [...] Rub one letter against another and a star is born. Bring a letter close to another and you can hear the sound of rain."
*
"You are you, and more.
You are you, and less. 
You are you and not you at the same time."
*
"Are we what we do with time, or are we what time does with us? Finding a response does not interest you as much as slowing down time. You do not want this autumn to end, just as you do not want the poem to grow to fullness and end. You do not want to reach winter. Let autumn be your private eternity."
*
"Death does not pain the dead, it pains the living."
*
"Longing lies and never tires of lying, because it lies honestly."
*
"Are you what you were, or what you are now? You fear you will forget tomorrow while mired in the question: In which time do I live?"

In the Presence of Absence

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