Mahmoud Darwish: As the Land is the Language

I Come From There

I come from there and I have memories

Born as mortals are, I have a mother

And a house with many windows,

I have brothers, friends,

And a prison cell with a cold window.

Mine is the wave, snatched by sea-gulls,

I have my own view,

And an extra blade of grass.

Mine is the moon at the far edge of the words,

And the bounty of birds,

And the immortal olive tree.

I walked this land before the swords

Turned its living body into a laden table.

I come from there.

I render the sky unto her mother

When the sky weeps for her mother.

And I weep to make myself known

To a returning cloud.

I learnt all the words worthy of the court of blood

So that I could break the rule.

I learnt all the words and broke them up

To make a single word: Homeland.....

An exile's anthem is made of past images, present uncertainties and future hopes. The exile does not always migrate willingly. Sometimes they are forced to. And sometimes they are forced by 'swords that turned their lands into a laden table'. Their memory becomes a slideshow of mementos from their beloved land. And each keepsake bears the image of 'the bounty of birds and the immortal olive tree'.

Mahmud Darwish: As the Land is the Language. Dir: Simone Bitton & Elias Sanbar. 60 mins, Israel/France 1998. Documentary on the famous Palestinian poet, his life and works. Q&A after the screening with a panel of specialists.

The ArtsZone,
54 - 56 Market Square,
London,
N9 0TZ
Wednesday 27th February.
This film is part of "Women's Cinema from Tangiers to Tehran" festival.
7pm (doors will open at 6.30pm)
Box office number 020 8 887 9500
E-mail: info@enfieldartspartnership.org
Admission: £5/£4 concs
(OAPs, students, people on benefits and disabled people, proof of ID required).
Early Bird Discount: Book before Wednesday 13th February and pay only £3
For more info click here