Though stateless and exiled for most of his life, Darwish used his poetry to convey Palestinian hope, identity and resistance
Considered Palestine's national poet, Mahmoud Darwish (1941-2008) lived and wrote for his home country, even when under threat or in exile. Briefly a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization, he drafted the Palestinian Declaration of Independence in 1988. Generations of Palestinians have adopted his poems such as "Identity Card," "I Belong There" and "To My Mother" into songs and chants, symbolizing both their ongoing repression and resistance. Darwish's words have gained new significance in light of Israel's ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people, evincing a flicker of hope amid systematic and unrelenting destruction. Moving yet tenderly told, this volume of Noor's Heroes relates Darwish's life and his legacy as a voice for the displaced.