Personal Info
- Country of residence: Palestine
Information
Ghiath Al-Madhoun (born July 19, 1979) is a Palestinian-Syrian-Swedish poet. His work has been translated into many languages, including Swedish, German, Greek, Italian, English, Dutch, French, Spanish, Czech, Croatian, Albanian, Indonesian, Persian and Chinese. His poetry has been part of many artists' works, for example, the artist Jenny Holzer has exhibited his poetry in Denmark, the USA and Italy, and the artist Blixa Bargeld has performed his poems in Norway and Greece.
his upbringing
Ghiyath was born in the Yarmouk camp in Syria to a Palestinian father from Gaza and a Syrian mother from Daraa. He did not carry identity papers during the 29 years he spent in Syria, but he studied Arabic literature at Damascus University. Al-Madhoun decided to leave as soon as possible, and the opportunity came to him through an invitation to a poetry evening in Sweden and a bribed officer at a Syrian airport, so he arrived in Sweden to seek political asylum, and he obtained citizenship after 3 years. Ghayath now lives between Berlin and Stockholm.
About his upbringing and his association with Syria, Al-Madhoun says: “My memory of the place in which I lived, crystallized and amplified as an expatriate. Usually, when a person travels, his nostalgia is for the place he left. It is natural that my nostalgia is for Syria, not Palestine. Before the Swedish citizenship, I did not see Palestine. My experiences, my people, for everything I lived there. As for Sweden, it is my reality, whether I love it or hate it, it is the reality in which I am involved as a Swedish citizen, taxpayer and passport holder, and it is the only citizenship I have ever had in my life, even though I am a nomad in the literal sense of the word. . Despite this, he expressed his great attachment to Palestine as well, and said about that: “Palestine is everything. First and foremost, I am Palestinian, by affiliation and inheritance. I was born in Syria, not by my choice, because the Palestinians paid their country as a solution and a tax for anti-Semitism in Europe, so the world decided that He solves the Jewish issue at the expense of the Palestinian people. I was born as a refugee because the butcher Adolf Hitler made the final solution. Al-Madhoun was able to visit Palestine for the first time after obtaining a Swedish passport.
his career
Al-Madhoun has published four collections of poetry, the first of which is a four-volume poetry collection in Arabic and published in 2004, and the last of which is “Adrenaline” in Milan 2017. In Sweden, his work has been translated and published in two collections: “Asylansökan” (Asylum Request), which was awarded the “Klas de Vylders” prize. (De Wilder) For Foreign Writers. He also co-authored "Till Damaskus (2014)" (To Damascus) with Swedish poet Marie Silkberg. The book was selected in the "Dagens Nyheters" list of the best new books of literary criticism, and was also adapted into a radio play on Swedish national radio. The book was also on the list of best-selling poetry books in Belgium in 2015 and 2017, and the book “I am here, you are there” reached the list of best-selling poetry books in Belgium in 2017. Al-Madhoun continued his partnership with Mary Silkberry and also produced several poetry films, the latest of which Snow in 2015.
Al-Madhoun published, together with Dutch poet Anne Veigter, the poetry collection "ik hier jij daar" (I am here, you are there) in Amsterdam in 2017.
A selection of his poems have been translated into English by Katherine Cobham and published by Action Books, USA, under the name “Adrenaline”, on November 15, 2017. The Adrenaline Collection was shortlisted for the 2018 BTBA (Best Translated Book Award) and was in the shortlist. Bestseller for four months - December 2017, January 2018, February 2018 and January 2019.
A selection of poems by Ghayath al-Madhoun, translated into German by Larisa Bender, as "Ein Raubtier namens Mittelmeer" (A predator called the Mediterranean), was also published on February 9, 2018. The book was ranked first in the "Litprom-Bestenliste / Sommer 2018" list of the best Books translated into German. Al-Madhoun won the DAAD (Artist-in-Berlin) grant 2019-2020.
The main themes in Al-Madhoun's poetry are war, destruction, death, fighting, exile, and homesickness. Al-Madhoun draws a time arc between the release of chlorine gas for the first time in World War I and the poison gas attacks of the Syrian regime. The heroes of his poems are the victims of the Syrian civil war, the wounded, the displaced, asylum seekers, and those who remain on the battlefield. His complex poems are infused with the rich imagery of Arabic poetry as well as the traditions of European poetry.
his views
Al-Madhoun was not in Syria when the Syrian revolution broke out in 2011, so he did not participate in it, and despite his support for it, he believes that “it does not deserve to be said that he is part of the Syrian revolution” because of his inability to return to Syria for fear of death, but he nevertheless He sees himself as “part of the consequences of the Syrian catastrophe that befell me directly, because the destruction of Syria is the destruction of my memory and my place, and the killing of the Syrian people is the killing of my family and friends. Even if I was not part of it, it was part of me, even if I did not go to Syria.”
Al-Madhoun believes that “Damascus is governed by one of the very traditional and classic dictatorships, which in my opinion is the most severe in the history of all dictatorships, compared to Pinochet in Chile, Saddam Hussein in Iraq, Gaddafi in Libya, and Ceausescu in Romania. I do not think there is a dictatorship that dared to do what he did.” Assad is the father and son of the Syrian people.
Al-Madhoun does not see himself as having multiple identities, but rather sees himself as "very Arab, and his culture is linked to the Arabic language."
literature
“I Cannot Attend” by the Arab Institute for Studies and Publishing, in 2014. ISBN 9786144194416
Adrenaline, Medium Publications, Milan, 2017. ISBN 139788885771809
"A Predator Called the Mediterranean," a German-language anthology of poetry.
I am here, you are there, a collection of poetry in Dutch, Jurgen Maas Publishing House, Amsterdam.
Achievements and Awards
Al-Mazraa Award 2005 for his book “Poems That Went Unintentionally”.
His book “The more the city expands, the narrower my room” won the Damascus Capital of Arab Culture Award, 2008.
“Application for Asylum” translated into Swedish won the Foreign Writer Award presented by the Swedish Writers Union.
The book “To Damascus” was selected among the critics’ list of the best books published in Sweden in 2014
Adrenaline entered the BTBA longlist for the Best Book Translated into English Award.
His book “A Predator Called the Mediterranean” topped the list of the best books translated into German, Litprom-Bestenliste / Sommer Summer 2018.
His film "Evian" won the first prize at the German "Zebra" Festival for Poetry Films in Berlin.
- Years in active
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