Mahmoud Darwish (Arabic: مَحمُود دَرْوِيْش, romanized: Maḥmūd Darwīsh; 13 March 1941 – 9 August 2008) was a Palestinian poet and author who was regarded as Palestine's national poet.[1]
In 1988, Darwish wrote the Palestinian Declaration of Independence, which was a declaration for the creation of a State of Palestine. Darwish won numerous awards for his works. Darwish used Palestine as a metaphor for the loss of Eden, birth and resurrection, and the anguish of dispossession and exile.[2][3] He has been described as incarnating and reflecting "the tradition of the political poet in Islam, the man of action whose action is poetry."[4] He also served as an editor for several literary magazines in Israel and the Palestinian territories.
Mahmoud Darwish, Palestinian National Poet, Pen and Ink Portrait by Amitabh Mitra