The Self,
The Sea,
and Shabjdeed

This collection examines the parallels between the poetic work of Mahmoud Darwish and the lyrics of contemporary Palestinian rapper Shabjdeed, analyzing how each articulates themes of identity, homeland, and the policing of movement.

In the translation process I was often confronted with, and hindered by, the constraints of the English language. One of these most obvious and persistent limitations were the English words themselves. These words were restricting because they lacked the nuance of the Arabic ones, carried heavy connotations, or just didn’t fit right. The other limitation was the sound of English itself. The English language is not as musical as Arabic -  it is missing the internal melody and rhythm.  Making it difficult for the English verses to roll off the tongue as easily as they would in their original Arabic.