Najwan Darwish, one of the foremost Arabic-language poets of his generation, was born in Jerusalem in 1978, exactly thirty years after his family was exiled from their home in the western part of the city. Shortly after studying in Amman, Jordan, and becoming a lawyer, Darwish decided to give up law and devote himself more fully to literature. He has worked as the editor of two cultural magazines in Palestine and was a cultural critic for the prominent Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar from 2006 to 2012. Darwish has been an organizer and advisor for many public arts projects, among them the Palestine Festival of Literature. In 2009, he founded a literary press in Jerusalem, and he is currently involved in establishing a new pan-Arab newspaper, where he will be the chief editor of the arts and culture section. Since the publication of his first collection in 2000, Darwish’s poetry has been acclaimed across the Arab world and has been translated into fifteen languages. In 2009, he was on the Hay Festival Beirut’s list of the “best 39 Arab authors under the age of 39.” He currently resides in Jerusalem.
納捷宛•達爾維什，傑出的阿拉伯文年輕詩人，1978年生於耶路撒冷，正好是他的父母被趕出耶路撒冷西部的三十週年。達爾維什曾在約旦安曼學習法律，當上律師不久，即決定投身文學事業，編輯巴勒斯坦國內兩本文化雜誌，2006至2012年期間在黎巴嫩的著名報紙Al-Akhbar上寫評論。達爾維什擔任過很多公共藝術項目的顧問，也親自組織過許多藝術活動，包括巴勒斯坦文學節。2009年，達爾維什在耶路撒冷創辦文學出版社，目前正在籌辦一份泛阿拉伯文世界的報紙，他將會擔任該份報紙的文藝版的主編。達爾維什於2000年出版自己的第一本詩集，此後揚名阿拉伯文世界，他的詩已被翻譯成十五種語言在世界各地出版。2009年，達爾維什被貝魯特文學節「卅九歲以下卅九位最佳阿拉伯文作家」之一。達爾維什現居耶路撒冷。