Fadwa Touqan, one of the most distinguished figures of modern Arabic literature, died in December 2003, at the height of the second Palestinian intifada, when her ancestral hometown of Nablus was under siege. Read More “Wahsha: Moustalhama min Qanoon al Jathibiya” (“Longing: Inspired by the Law of Gravity”) was one of her last poems, written when she was almost bedridden.

She published eight collections of poems: “My Brother Ibrahim” (1946), “Alone with the Days” (1952), “I Found It” (1958), “Danos Love” (1960), “Before the Closed Door” (1967), “The Night and the Riders” (1969), “Alone on the Summit of the World” (1973), “July and the Other Anthem” (1989), and “The Last Toronda” (2000). She also wrote two books, “Mountainous Journey: A Poet’s Autobiography” (1990) and “The More Difficult Journey” (1993).  She was the recipient of the International Poetry Prize in Palermo, Italy, as well as awards in Greece and Jordan, the Jerusalem Award for Culture and Arts from the Palestinian Liberation Organization in 1990, the United Arab Emirates Award, and the Honorary Palestine Prize for Poetry in 1996.