Ghassan ZAQTAN

2001
  • Asia
  • Western Asia
  • Palestinian Territories
Arabic

Ghassan ZAQTAN (poet, West Bank; b. 1954, Beit Jala) is co-founder and director of the House of Poetry in Ramallah. He is chief editor for the Al-Shua'ra (Poets) quarterly and writes weekly columns for two newspapers in Ramallah and in the Gulf. His poetry collections include Luring the Mountain in Beirut (1999); Prescription of a Description in Jerusalem (1998) and Weightless Sky (1980). His novel, Describing the Past, was published in Jordan in 1995. Mr. Zaqatan has also written a number of scripts for various film documentaries. He is currently working on a poetry/prose anthology whose themeis "roads," comparing paths in life with the physical environment. His play The Narrow Sea was honored at the 1994 Cairo Festival. He is taking part in the IWP through the US Department of State.

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Happening Now

  • We regret the passing, on April 11, 2024, of the distinguished Romanian author and critic Dan Cristea, who served as the editor in chief of the Luceafărul de Dimineață cultural monthly. In addition to being an alum of the 1985 Fall Residency, Cristea received his PhD in Comparative Literature at the University of Iowa.

  • Our congratulations to 1986 Fall Residency writer Kwame Dawes, who has been named the new poet laureate of Jamaica.

  • Congratulations to our colleagues Jennifer Croft and Aron Aji, who are among those serving as judges for the National Book Awards this year, in their case in the category of translated literature.

  • Ranjit Hoskote’s speech at the 2024 Goa Literary Festival addresses the current situation in Gaza.

  • In NY Times, Bina Shah worries about the state of Pakistani—and American—democracy.

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