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Sumud: A New Palestinian Reader

by Malu Halasa

Palestinian cultural history through many forms

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AlbakiReads Editorial

Palestinian cultural history through many forms

Bringing together memoir, fiction, essays, poetry, personal narrative, criticism, and visual art, this anthology presents Palestinian cultural work across the 20th and 21st centuries, with particular attention to writing from 2021–2024. Its organizing idea is *sumūd*, described in the source as a Palestinian value of everyday perseverance and a personal and collective commitment to shaping one’s life under occupation. The range of forms places individual accounts alongside cultural and political analysis, while twenty-five black-and-white illustrations by Palestinian artists extend the collection beyond written contributions.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Readers interested in Palestinian literature and cultural history.
  • Readers seeking an anthology that combines creative writing, personal accounts, essays, and art.
  • Readers exploring cultural responses to occupation and collective perseverance.

Themes

Palestinian cultural historyEveryday perseverance and collective commitmentLiterature and art as cultural expressionOccupation and political conditions

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

An anthology that celebrates the power of culture in Palestinian resistance, with selections of memoir, short stories, essays, book reviews, personal narrative, poetry, and art.

Includes twenty-five black-and-white illustrations by Palestinian artists.


The Arabic word sumūd is often loosely translated as "steadfastness" or "standing fast." It is, above all, a Palestinian cultural value of everyday perseverance in the face of Israeli occupation. Sumūd is both a personal and collective commitment; people determine their own lives, despite the environment of constant oppressions imposed upon them.

This anthology spans the 20th and 21st centuries of Palestinian cultural history, and highlights writing from 2021-2024. The collection of writing and art features work from forty-six contributors including:

  • Dispatches from Hossam Madhoun, co-founder of Gaza's Theatre for Everybody, as he survives the post-October 2023 war on Gaza;
  • Novelist Ahmed Masoud with "Application 39," a sci-fi short story about a Dystopian bid for the Olympics;
  • Sara Roy and Ivar Ekeland with "The New Politics of Exclusion: Gaza as Prologue," an analysis of Israel's divide and conquer policies of fragmentation;
  • Historian Ilan Papp
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