A Mysterious Incident, the Poetic Language and Palestine

Abstract

This interpretation of the poem “Ka-Ḥādiṯatin Ġāmiḍatin” (Like a Mysterious Event) by Mahmud Darwish is based on a personal translation (from Arabic to Spanish) of the poem, and on the philosophical studies on language and poetry by Martin Heidegger, as well as the concept of the engaged writer by Jean-Paul Sartre. The poem explores the meaning and creation of poetry. Its verses collect the hopeful words that the Greek poet Yanis Ritsos addressed to Palestine more than thirty years ago. These remarks have gained new relevance in light of the current conditions in that region.