For Immediate Release
Contact: Alisa Giardinelli610.690.5717 April 8, 2002[email protected]www.swarthmore.edu
Internationally Renowned Palestinian Poet Mahmoud Darwish at Swarthmore College
Visit Represents His First Reading Ever in U.S.
Acclaimed Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish will read his poetry for the first time in the U.S. at Swarthmore College on Sunday, April 28, at 4:00 p.m. in the Lang Performing Arts Center. The event is free but seating is limited, with priority given to Swarthmore students; please contact (610) 328-8200 or lpacres.swarthmore.edu for reservation information.
[Note: Reporters interested in covering the event should contact Swarthmore's News and Information Office at (610) 328-8533.]
Darwish, revered as the Palestinian national poet and savior of the Arab language, will read following a concert by Marcel Khalife, an award-winning Lebanese musician and composer who cancelled dates of his current North American tour to attend the event. Darwish and Khalife will be introduced by Columbia University professor Edward Said, a scholar of modern literature and theory and an expert on international and Middle Eastern politics.
Darwish, the author of more than two dozen books of poetry and prose, is the recipient of numerous international literary awards, including the $350,000 Lannan Foundation Prize for Cultural Freedom. The foundation, based in Santa Fe, N.M., announced the award in November and is also funding a major English translation of his work that will be published this fall.
After learning of Darwish's Lannan Foundation award, a group of Swarthmore faculty and alumni inquired about his availability in order to bring him to campus. Coincidentally, the Lannan Foundation was looking for a venue on the East Coast at which to introduce Darwish to the U.S., and it offered to sponsor his visit to Swarthmore. Darwish's visit also stems from Swarthmore's interest in expanding its program and resources in Islamic Studies, including the addition of a full-time Islamicist in the religion department and of library materials on Qur'an (scripture), Hadith (prophetic traditions), and Fiqh (Islamic law and jurisprudence).
Located near Philadelphia, Swarthmore is a highly selective liberal arts college with an enrollment of 1,450. Swarthmore is consistently ranked among the top liberal arts colleges in the country.
-30-
RSS