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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Stephen Burgen

Written under collapsing ceilings, typed on phones: the poetry bringing Palestine to the world

A person in silhouette stands by material hung over a string, looking out over bomb-damaged buildings and a minaret.
The Islamic University in Gaza has seen 95% of its buildings damaged or destroyed. Photograph: Abdalhkem Abu Riash//Getty Images

Poetry may not be the best response to aerial bombardment, but for many Palestinians it has become a line of defence amid the rubble and ongoing killings in Gaza.

“Poetry keeps hope alive. Even in the darkest moments, Palestinian poetry continues to imagine a future,” Nazmi al-Masri, professor of languages at the Islamic University of Gaza, says at an online poetry event held by his students.

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