Ghassan Kanafani

"No other author has been as profoundly formative for me as Kanafani" Mohammed El-Kurd, poet, writer and journalist, author of Rifqa "I cannot think of a better collection to guide anyone seeking a moral role in the struggle for the liberation of Palestine" Ilan Pappé, historian and author of The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine "As relevant today as he was in the 1960s and 1970s" Ghassan Abu Sittah, award-winning surgeon, humanitarian and educator Ghassan Kanafani is perhaps the greatest Palestinian novelist, whose books including Men in the Sun and Returning to Haifa documented the horrors of war and occupation. He was also a leading political thinker, strategist and revolutionary. Here, his writings on politics, history, national liberation and the media are collected in English for the first time. Featuring new commentary from leading writers, this collection is a testament to Kanafani's continuing relevance. His work remains a vital touchstone for revolutionary Palestinian struggle and anti-colonial thought. Ghassan Kanafani is one of the most well-known Arab writers and journalists of the past century. Born in Palestine in 1936, Kanafani and his family were forced to flee his homeland during the Nakba - after which he lived and worked in Damascus, Kuwait and finally, from 1960, Beirut. Kanafani was assassinated in 1972 by a car bomb planted by Israeli agents. His writings have inspired generations of Palestinians and those standing in solidarity with their cause. Louis Brehony is an award-winning researcher on political culture, musician, writer and activist. He is the author of Palestinian Music in Exile and director of the documentary film Kofia: A Revolution Through Music. Tahrir Hamdi is a Professor of Resistance Literature at the Arab Open University, Jordan. She is author of the prizewinning Imagining Palestine, and assistant editor of Arab Studies Quarterly.

Ghassan Kanafani is one of the most well-known Arab writers and journalists of the past century. Born in Palestine in 1936, Kanafani and his family were forced to flee his homeland during the Nakba - after which he lived and worked in Damascus, Kuwait and finally, from 1960, Beirut. Kanafani was assassinated in 1972 by a car bomb planted by Israeli agents. His writings have inspired generations of Palestinians and those standing in solidarity with their cause.

Introduction: The Revolutionary Journey of Ghassan Kanafani - Louis Brehony and Tahrir Hamdi
Part I. Revolutionary routes: Arab Nationalism and Socialism
1. On Childhood, Literature, Marxism, the Front and al-Hadaf (1972) - Introduction by Hania A. M. Nashef
2. Yemen and Iraq: One Story or Two? (1964) - Introduction by Patrick Higgins
3. Fares Fares: This is the Famous Professor (1965) - Introduction by As'ad AbuKhalil
Part II. War, Defeat and Revolutionary Critique
4. Resistance is the Essence (1967) - Introduction by Louis Brehony
5. Thoughts on Change and the 'Blind Language' (1968) - Introduction by Rabab Abdulhadi
6. Will the September Settlement Surprise Us? (1969) - Introduction by Louis Brehony
Part III. 'The Target.' Building the Marxist-Leninist Front
7. Excerpts from Strategy for the Liberation of Palestine (1969) - Introduction by Khaled Barakat
8. The Resistance and its Challenges: View of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (1970) - Introduction by Max Ajl
9. The Underlying Synthesis of the Revolution: Document on the Organisational Weapon (1971) - Introduction by Wissam Rafeedie
10. On the PFLP and the September Crisis (1971) - Introduction by Thomas Hofland
Part IV. Kanafani and the Media
11. "A conversation between the sword and the neck" (1970) - Introduction by Romana Rubeo
12. Denmark: A Study in Media Experience (1972) - Introduction by Ibrahim Aoude
13. Concerning the Case of Abu Hamidu: Issues of Media 'Exchange' with the Enemy (1972) - Introduction by Asma Hussain
Part V. Intifadas of Thought: Looking to the Future
14. The Secret Alliance Between Saudi Arabia and Israel (1970) - Introduction by Nafez Ghneim
15. Towards a Constructive Dialogue on Palestinian National Unity (1969) - Introduction by Tahrir Hamdi
16. The Armed Action Unit: In Light of Recent Developments (1969) - Introduction by Tahrir Hamdi
Appendix: Reflections on the Early Works of Ghassan Kanafani - Amira Silmi, Romana Rubeo, Ramzy Baroud and Malek Abisaab, Introduction by Louis Brehony