PalFest 2011: The Film

Kol HaMusica by Najwan Darwish [English translation]

Kol HaMusica

1

Our enemies call the piano ‘psanter’ …

How long have these psanters been striking 

in the wake of the sleeping dead?

How long have they continued their transmission from

the station ‘Kol HaMusica’

while their planes shell the Southern Suburb  of Beirut 

and bomb a three-room home in Jabalia Camp?

The psanters

that never ceased to hunt him down 

to the darkness of the other bank.

The psanters

that now strike with an  icy drone. 

The psanters

The psanters

He will carry on calling  them in the enemy’s language 

until the musical instrument  desists from partaking  in the crime.

2

‘The piano is the grandchild of the Qanun.’

This is a historical fact,

it has nothing to do with these psanters 

that now slash my face with razor blades.

The occupiers do not care for stories of blood or dynasties,

to them the piano is but a foundling they call the ‘psanter’.

3

Sometimes I think that soldiers killed the pianists,

and generals are now playing inside the records.

Translated by Lubna Fahoum

Two PalFest Events in London this Month

March 14th

Get tickets here

March 15th

Imagining Gaddafi

Randa Jarrar is one of eight novelists who have imagined the last days of Gaddafi for Salon Magazine.

Read them here.

 

And if you like Randa's piece, then click on the book cover above to buy a copy of her debut novel, A Map of Home.

 

The Tempest | Palestine Tour

This is a very exciting project. Jericho House, an award-winning UK theatre company are about to world premiere a brand new production of The Tempest with a tour of Palestine. They'll be performing in Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Nablus and Haifa in early September.

From what we understand the production also includes the performance of the original musical score - which the director, Jonathan Holmes, discovered when researching the play in Oxford's Bodleian Library. So this play has not been performed with the original score in living memory.

This is their poster, and you can check out their Facebook page.

Poetic Injustice | UK Tour

Remi Kanazi - the awesome US/Palestinian poet is getting ready to do a tour of the UK this autumn. Check out his peformance below, and if you want him to play a gig in your town then get in touch with us at info (a) palfest . org and we'll try and make it happen.

/si:n/ festival

The /si:n/ festival of video art and performance is happening right now across Palestine.

Here's one of the pieces on show, Exit, by Mohanad Yaqubi.



Find out more here: http://sinfestival.blogspot.com/