How Much Longer? – Poetry from Palestine

A New Poem by Palestinian Poet Dr. Hanan Awwad

nasiraijaz October 29, 2026

0 0 4 minutes read

Palestine-Poem-Sindh Courier-AI — AI-generated image

How much longer, O shore,

Must you remain a borrowed shore!

While blood remains the harvest

Of those who dwell upon you?

Hanan Awwad

Hanan Awwad is a prolific author who has devoted her life to teaching, writing, and advocating for Palestinian independence. She believes that poetry is a way to bring about change, give a voice to Palestinians, and promote peace.

Awwad was born in Jerusalem on August 13, 1951. There she spent her early childhood, and it was during these formative years that she developed the love of and loyalty to the city that would underscore her future literary and political career. From a young age, she explains, Jerusalem taught her the meaning of home.

She was one of seven children, three boys and four girls. Awwad’s father, who greatly influenced her character, was a central figure in her life and the source of much of her inspiration: “He imparted to me tenderness, knowledge, freedom, and a refusal to succumb to the impossible and he fortified me with confidence.”

She recalls listening to the famous song “Amjad ya ‘Arab, amjad” [You are glorious, O Arabs, glorious] while watching the news with him. He would invite her, even as a young girl, to sit with him and his friends, mostly writers and politicians, as they discussed current state affairs and the future of Palestine.

Likewise, Awwad’s mother played an important role in informing her political consciousness. Her encouragement drove Awwad to succeed in her literary career and other aspects of her life. Both parents taught her discipline, commitment, graciousness, dignity, and love for one’s home and country.

As a young girl, Awwad would listen to all of the Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser’s speeches. She became captivated with the idea of Arab unity. She memorized the slogans of Arab resistance movements and repeated them in school or whispered them to herself when alone. Awwad also memorized songs about Palestine, revolution, and peace. She tried her hand at writing her own poetry and was encouraged to do so by her teachers.

Awwad’s father encouraged her pursuit of higher education. After she graduated from the Ibrahimiyya high school in Jerusalem, she earned her first diploma in education in 1971 from Dar al-Mu‘allimat in Ramallah. In 1974, she received her BA in Arabic language and literature from Beirut University. Two years later, she obtained a diploma in literary criticism from Cairo’s al-Azhar University. She went on to pursue three additional degrees. In 1977, she received an MA in Arabic literature and humanities from the Institute of Asian and African Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Awwad recalls, “I ascended the graduation platform with pride, for I was the only Palestinian who attained this degree.”

In 1981, she received her PhD degree. Her dissertation examined the image of women in the works of Ghassan Kanafani, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) spokesperson, novelist, short story writer, and painter who was assassinated by Israel in Beirut in 1972.

After completing her doctorate at McGill, Awwad returned to Jerusalem, where she was appointed Head of the Department of Cultural Studies at Abu Dis College in Jerusalem (later merged into Al-Quds University in Abu Dis). She served as head of the department from 1982 until 1986, after which she became Head of the Humanities Department.

From 1998 to 2004, Awwad served as the cultural advisor of Palestinian president Yasser Arafat. In that role, she often spoke on behalf of President Arafat at press conferences as well as cultural events. Awwad led a Global Solidarity Movement in support of the former president during the siege of June 2002, when his headquarters were surrounded by the Israeli army for five days. Awwad served as General Manager of Arafat’s office affairs. In this capacity, she served as member of the Palestinian National Council as well as cultural advisor of the Governorate of Jerusalem and its Ministry of Media.

Awwad founded two unions, one for writers and another for journalists, and, in 1992, the PEN Centre for Palestinian Writers in Jerusalem. The PEN Centre promotes free speech and protect persecuted writers. Since 1992, Awwad has headed the Palestinian Council for Global Ratification & Elections Network.