Taha Muhammad Ali

Taha Muhammad Ali (Arabic: طه محمد علي), born in 1931 in Saffuriyya, a village in the Galilee, Israel, is a leading figure in contemporary Palestinian poetry.

Biography

Taha Muhammad Ali fled to Lebanon with his family when he was seventeen after their village came under heavy bombardment during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. The following year, he returned to Nazareth, where he has lived ever since. In the 1950s and 1960s, he sold souvenirs during the day to Christian pilgrims and studied poetry (everything from classical Arabic to contemporary American free-verse) at night. His formal education ended after fourth grade. Still owner of a small souvenir shop near the Church of Annunciation which he operates with his sons, Muhammad Ali writes vividly of his childhood in Saffuriyya and the political upheavals he has survived.

Poetic style

One of his translators, Gabriel Levin, has described his style as "forceful" and "in short lines of varying beats with a minimum of fuss and a rich array of images drawn primarily from his village life."

References

http://www.blueflowerarts.com/tmuhammad.html

See also

• Interview with Muhammad Ali, The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, [1]
• Book Description [2]
• Book Description [3]
• Review of So What: New & Selected Poems, 1971–2005 [4]

Bibliography

• So What: New & Selected Poems, 1971–2005. 2006. ISBN 1-55659-245-0. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• Never Mind: Twenty Poems and a Story. 2000. ISBN 965-90125-2-7.
• Fourth Qasida.
• Fooling the Killers.
• Fire in the Convent Garden.

Anthologies

• Poet's Choice. 2006. ISBN 0-15-101356-X.

Plays

Alruwah Theatre in Jerusalem adapted one of Taha's short stories "Never Mind" for the stage. The play, "Abu Halimeh," stars Ismael Dabbagh.