Palestinian poetry festivals grew up after the Nakba in 1948 under the imposition of Israeli military rule. At a time when it was difficult to get a book in Arabic due to censorship and the shutting down of Arab printing presses, whole villages would come together to listen to resistance poets, who recorded the injustices perpetrated against the Palestinians in verse and inspired them to dream of a better future. These poets became symbols of the Palestinian struggle and often endured threats, detention, torture and imprisonment for their poetic and political activities.

A History of Palestinian Resistance Poetry explores key events in the history of Palestine and its occupation, giving context to the development of Palestinian poetry and its anti-colonial, communist, socialist, Pan-Arab and nationalist leanings. It looks at the role of poetry in rallying resistance against the British Mandate before 1948 and the hugely popular outlawed Palestinian poetry festivals that grew up in the face of Israeli military rule between 1948-1967. Features of Palestinian resistance poetry after the 1967 Arab-Israeli war are highlighted, along with the symbolism of endurance and steadfastness (ṣumūd) drawn from the natural world and Islamic spirituality.

In A History of Palestinian Resistance Poetry, verses from prominent Palestinian resistance and protest poets, past and present, are woven together with their inspiring life stories. Because Palestinian resistance poets dealt with themes of protest, defiance and revolution, risking significant repressive and punitive retaliation from the authorities, they became cultural icons and symbols of the Palestinian struggle and the injustices they faced. The poets of Palestine continue to this day to record injustices and oppression, and to inspire hope and change through their poetry and activism.

The proceeds from this publication will go to charities to help Palestinians and other civilians in conflict zones.