PalFest 2017 Report

2017 Festival Report

PARTNERS
RIAD KAMAL
SAMIR & MALAK ZAHI KHOURI & ZINA FADI AHDAF
ABDULHADI AMAL NASSER JARDANEH GHANDOUR SOUEIF
PATRONS
CHINUA JOHN MAHMOUD SEAMUS HAROLD PHILIP EMMA

ACHEBE BERGER DARWISH HEANEY PINTER PULLMAN THOMPSON
OPENING STATEMENT
None of us can be liberated until Palestine is free. so the response grows fiercer: the torture of Gaza, the strangulation
of Jerusalem; the paradoxes of the West Bank all cut deeper, while
This we have long believed. abroad the siege has slipped into the tongues of the Farages, Le Pens
and Orbans and their rising malice. It is more than Palestine, it is an
Ten years have passed since PalFest staged its first event at the idea that is under siege. An idea of justice – with Palestine at its heart.
National Theatre in Jerusalem. Ten festivals, ten tiny interventions in a
terrible decade that has witnessed three assaults and a medieval siege There can be no justice without justice in Palestine.
The year is 2017 and on Gaza, the rise of the Arab revolutions and their counter-revolutions,
the entrenchment of the Forever War, the evisceration of Syria, the rise But equally important, and what we must always remember: we cannot
this is now the tenth of ISIS, Putin, Trump and their vassals. be defeated until Palestine is defeated.
annual Palestine When PalFest launched, there was a simple faith at its core: that the
liberation of Palestine will be inevitable once the world understands
What, then, is the role of the artist, the festival, the witness in today’s
battles?
Festival of Literature. the truth of what is happening here.
We turn to you, our audience, our friends, our authors, with that
The year is 2017 and The transmission of information was the path to freedom. question.
yet we are still living When PalFest was launched it did not have a Facebook page. What is the shape of the world to come and how can we write what is
yet to be written?
in the 20th century. Now the Age of Information has swelled around us, all of human
knowledge, all facts and anti-facts, all people and all languages and Palestine is the laboratory of the future: the checkpoints, the sieges,
History cannot move news reports and histories are an internet connection away. the psy-ops, the architecture, the credit lines, the algorithms – all are
commodities sold to future repressions.
forward, empires We got the information – all the information – without the liberation.
What of that future can we still unmake?
cannot be dismantled, What use are art, words, witnesses within the noise of this digital
avalanche? How can we carve out meaning again? What new future can we still imagine?
until Palestine is free. What is a witness when crimes are no longer hidden? That is what is under siege today: the possibility of imagining.
In 2008 PalFest declared it would work with our Palestinian partners to
“break the cultural siege” on Palestine. PalFest turns ten this year. The world has changed and Palestine is not
yet free. So we ask you to join us in imagination, through this week,
Where is that siege now? What is it? The cultural siege has spilled into through the coming years. After our closing night, here, in 2017, we
an open battle being played out in countries around the world. From will take a step back, a pause into thought for a year. Our hope is that
campus activism to corporate divestment the battle over Palestine is together we can return in a future year with the right festival to take
being fought on countless fronts. The cultural war is being won. And into battle.
ARTISTS
CAPTION
Ma’n Abu Taleb Jelani Cobb Omar Robert Hamilton Ismail Khalidi Solmaz Sharif
Saleem Albeik Jamal Daher Nathalie Handal Wasim Kurdi Hala Shroof
Nadeem Aslam Natalie Diaz Rachel Holmes Ali Mawasi Ahdaf Soueif
Annie Baker Dolores Dorantes Chris Jackson Eileen Myles Haifa Zangana
Jehan Bseiso Ali Habiballah Suzanne Joinson Ghassan Naddaf
Diana Buttu Ameer Hamad Majd Kayyal Alexandra Pringle
DAY 1 Amman - Ramallah

8am International authors leave Amman for King Hussein border crossing
9am Arrive at border
3pm Last author is allowed through
5pm Arrive in Ramallah
7pm Opening Event: The Ottoman Court

Ameer Hamad, Hala Shroof, Omar Robert Hamilton, Wassim Kurdi,
Solmaz Sharif
Omar Robert Hamilton reads at the opening event. The Ottoman Court. Ramallah
DAY 2 Ramallah - Jerusalem
9am Check out and board bus

Drive to Jerusalem, cross Qalandia Checkpoint
11am Briefing from Ray Dolphin at UNOCHA
Chris Jackson and Jelani Cobb go through Qalandiya Checkpoint

DAY 2 Jerusalem - Al-Khalil/Hebron
2pm Depart for al-Khalil
3.30pm Walking tour of Old City of Hebron, the market, Shuhada Street and
the Ibrahimi Mosque.
5.30pm Briefing from the Hebron Rehabilitation Committee about the

occupation of Hebron and the architecture of urban apartheid.
PalFest walks through the shuttered marketplace in the Old City of al-Khalil/Hebron
DAY 3 Jerusalem
9.30am Morning seminar at al-Quds Bard College.

The Future of Borders:
Jehan Bseiso (MC), Dolores Dorantes, Suzy Joinson, Nathalie Handal,
Bona Abu Zuluf, Aya Qunber & Baha’ Budair
11am Visit to the Museum of the Prisoner
12pm Drive to Bethlehem. Tour of the Old City.
Al-Quds Bard College student makes a point during PalFest morning seminar. Jerusalem
DAY 3 Bethlehem - Jerusalem
4pm Return to Jerusalem, crossing Bethlehem checkpoint on foot.

7pm Evening event at Nordic Café, Jerusalem
The Future of History:
Jelani Cobb, Natalie Diaz, Ali Habiballah, Ismail Khalidi, Haifa Zangana
British/Iraqi author, Haifa Zangana, speaks at Nordic Café, Jerusalem

DAY 4 Jerusalem - Haifa
9am Visit to al-Aqsa, co-ordinated with al-Waqf Authority

10.30am Tour of the Old City of Jerusalem with Daoud al-Ghoul
PalFest authors Ma’n Abu Taleb, Chris Jackson and Jelani Cobb leaving al-Aqsa Sanctuary, with the Dome of the Rock behind them
DAY 4 Jerusalem - Haifa
2pm Depart for Haifa
7pm Evening event at the Arab Culture Association, Haifa

The Future of Truth:
Diana Buttu, (MC) Ma’n Abu Taleb, Saleem Albeik, Annie Baker,
Majd Kayyal, Ali Mawassi, Eileen Myles
Majd Kayyal, Ali Mawassi, Annie Baker, Eileen Myles and Ma’n Abu Taleb onstage at The Arab Culture Association, Haifa
DAY 5 Haifa - Nablus
9am Talk by Professor Nadeem Rouhana of Mada al-Carmel,

the Arab Center for Applied Social Research

11am Tour of Haifa with urbanist Orwa Switat.

1pm Depart for Nablus
7pm Evening event in Nablus.

The Future of Empire:
Haifa Zangana (MC) Nadeem Aslam, Jamal Daher, Rachel Holmes,
Ghassan Naddaf. wiith music from the Nablus Chapter of the Edward Said
National Conservatory of Music.
Poet Jehan Bseiso in Nablus with young musicians from the Nablus Chapter of the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music
DAY 6 Nablus - Ramallah
8am Depart Nablus
9.30am Walk in the hills with Raja Shehadeh
Raja Shehada reads to PalFest authors in a lodge in the Ramallah countryside

DAY 6 Nablus - Ramallah

7pm PalFest closing night
Open format: Reflections from PalFest Authors
PalFest closing night at the Khalil Sakakini Cultural Centre, Ramallah

THIS IS NOT A BORDER
Published by Bloomsbury Books in both the UK and “Commemorating 10 extraordinary years of PalFest, the Palestine Festival of Literature, cofounders
the USA, This Is Not A Border: Reportage & Reflections
from the Palestine Festival of Literature collects Soueif and Hamilton gathered 47 literary luminaries to create this essential testimony .. Throughout
ten years of texts about Palestine from PalFest
participants. this gathering of essays, poetry, reportage and confessions, certain words – apartheid, erasure, pain,
powerlessness, complicity, waiting, wasting, humiliation, absurdity – repeatedly resonate. But what
With essays, poems and diaries from 47 authors it is
a significant milestone. lingers longest are hope, expectation, and the demand for peace.” – starred review, Booklist
MAP
As part of our work for This Is Not a Border we designed and commissioned
a new map of Palestine to reflect the geopolitical realities of today.
BOOK LAUNCHES
Events were organised to celebrate the publication of This Is Not a

Border in London, Boston, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Hay-on-Wye and
London.
Every event was full to capacity.
The London launch was featured as the LRB Bookshop’s podcast.

10 YEARS OF PALFEST:
THE MOVIE
Murat Gökmen has filmed PalFest since 2010. Now, to mark 10 years,
he’s put together this powerful video.
NEW WRITINGS
PalFest authors’ new writings on Palestine:
Ahdaf Soueif in the Guardian: On 10 Years
Yasmin El-Rifae in LitHub: Where Does Palestine Begin?
Natalie Diaz in the New York Times: A Native American Poet Excavates
the Language of Occupation
Ahdaf Soueif in Ahram Online: Siege
Yasmin El-Rifae in Mada Masr: Reaching
Nancy Kricorian in Armenian Weekly: Stories from the Armenian Quarter
Ma’an Abu Taleb in The White Review: A God Is All Over Me

SOCIAL MEDIA
CAPTION
BEYOND THE FESTIVAL
HAY FESTIVAL AWARD
In May 2017 PalFest was awarded the Hay Medal for Festivals.
BEYOND THE FESTIVAL
FABER SOCIAL FOR PALFEST PALFEST x TPFF
The Faber Social, a monthly literary event organised PalFest collaborated with the Toronto Palestine
by Faber & Faber, dedicated their May 2017 edition Film Festival to stage a conversation between Leila
to PalFest. An incredible line-up was assembled, Abdelrazak, Hala Alyan and Indu Vashit as part of
with words from Edna O’Brien, Hisham Matar, TPFF 2017.
Andrew O’Hagan and Eimar McBride, and music
from Bobby Gillespie of Primal Scream.
PALFEST 2008-2017
2017 was PalFest’s tenth edition. A lot has changed in ten years. PalFest was an early adopter of Facebook, Flickr and Twitter, establishing profiles in 2009.
Our use of Twitter in those early years was innovative and immersive, bringing online
When we first started, the authors who came with us were taking something of a leap of audiences in to the journey of the festival. Our photographs on Flickr created a bank of
faith. When we first started, in 2008, our focus was on bringing UK writers and cultural images of international authors that are regularly used and have been viewed 700,000
practitioners to Palestine. In this PalFest had two aims: to help maintain contact between times. Our Facebook page has, at times, been a major node for news about Palestine, with
Palestinians and international artists, and to provide the visitors with their own, personal over 130,000 likes, and we have used the platform not just to share news but to support
experience of Palestine: an experience that we hoped would filter through into their work various crowdfunding campaigns in Palestine. (Now, though, we are restricting our use as
and out into the wider cultural discourse. we re-evaluate our willingness to continue to use the platform.)
In our ten years we have brought some of the most respected and established names in In the last decade there has unquestionably been a general cultural shift towards Palestine
literature to Palestine, as well as some of the freshest young voices: overall 202 authors across Europe - social media, Israel’s three wars of aggression on Gaza, the growing
from 25 countries. Every year half our authors have been international guests and half strength of BDS and the new perspectives of younger generations have been central to
Palestinian. this. So four years ago we decided to broaden the PalFest remit to include more American
authors to engage with that same cultural process there.
Over the decade we have also worked to develop an extended international network of
artists, curators and cultural producers committed to Palestine. Outside Palestine, we Today Palestinian culture has become exponentially more visible on the international
have staged events in London, New York and Cairo; we’ve co-hosted events at the South scene, while inside Palestine new festivals of dance, music and contemporary art have
Bank Centre and the Free Word Centre in London, Brookline Booksmith in Boston, Mayday become calendar fixtures. Other, unrelated, festivals that have appeared in Dublin, Milton
in Brooklyn, the Toronto Palestine Film Festival and the Boston Palestine Film Festival. We Keynes and Tottenham Have named themselves “PalFest”.
have acted as advisors and collaborators with the Kennedy Centre in Washington DC, the
Jaipur Literary Festival, Poetry International in London and Hay-on-Wye. We value our rich The contours of the narrative battle being fought over Palestine are constantly evolving.
network of informal connections.
Which is why we decided to take this moment, after a decade of work, to evaluate
Several PalFestivalians have gone on to develop sustained engagements with Palestine. ourselves, our abilities and our aspirations. And to think about what kind of festival we
Henning Mankell was on board the Freedom Flotilla the year after he attended. Jeremy need to produce to engage effectively with the coming decade..
Harding, Rachel Holmes and Jamal Mahjoub have all returned multiple times to teach
writing classes. William Sutcliffe transformed an almost completed novel after his We hope to return in 2019 with answers.
experience. The WildWorks Theatre Company returned to Nablus to stage a collaborative
theatre production. The experience of Palestine has filtered through into guest authors’,
editors’ and publishers’ work in unquantifiable ways.
TESTIMONIALS
PalFest is not only

the most powerful
and important literary
festival it’s ever
been my privilege to
attend, it’s one of the
most powerful and
important things I’ve
experienced, full stop.
– CHINA MIÉVILLE
TESTIMONIALS
The most memorable,

most meaningful
literature festival I
have ever been to.
– SUSAN ABULHAWA
TESTIMONIALS
Thanks for being who

you are and for giving
us such exposure to
wonderful people.
Palestine is proud of
you.
– SUAD AMIRY
TESTIMONIALS
Truly life-changing . . .
As a human being and
as a writer, this was a
revelatory experience.
– WILLIAM SUTCLIFFE
TESTIMONIALS
Every literary act,
whether it is a
great epic poem
or an honest piece
of journalism or a
simple nonsense
tale for children is
a blow against the
forces of stupidity
and ignorance and
darkness . . . The
Palestine Festival of
Literature exists to
do just that–and I
salute it for its work.
Not only this year
but for as long as it is
necessary.
– PHILIP PULLMAN
TESTIMONIALS
Packed with so much

genius and courage
and heart I don’t
know what to say
except thank you and
I have new favourite
writers.
– MOLLY CRABAPPLE
TESTIMONIALS
The most rewarding

— and challenging
— literary festival a
writer could hope to
take part in.
– JEREMY HARDING
TESTIMONIALS
One of the most

affecting trips of my
life.
– SABRINA MAHFOUZ
PALFESTIVALIANS Sarah Carr Ali Habiballah Majd Kayyal Muqata’a Jack Shenker
Anne Chisholm Amin Haddad Brigid Keenan David Mura Bhakti Shringarpure
2008-2017 Susannah Clapp Subhi Hadidi Mercedes Kemp Akram Musallem Hala Shroof
Jelani Cobb Ameer Hamad Omar El Khairy Maath Musleh Hala Shrouf
Tareq Abboushi JM Coetzee Tarik Hamdan Ismail Khalidi Eileen Myles Mahmoud Shuqair
Khalid Abdalla Teju Cole Omar Robert Hamilton Maya Khalidi Ghassan Naddaf Rick Simonson
Akram Abdelfattah Molly Crabapple Nathan Hamilton Khaled Khamisi Ayman Nahass Farag Sleiman
Susan Abulhawa Geraldine D’Amico Suheir Hammad Naim al Khatib Khaled Najar Gillian Slovo
Ali Abunimah Selma Dabbagh Nathalie Handal Rana Khoury Tania Nasir Ahdaf Soueif
Lorraine Adams Jamal Daher Mohammed Hanif Sharif Abdel Kouddous Sonia Nimr Linda Spalding
Ali Abu Ajamieh William Dalrymple Ahmed Harb Nancy Kricorian Andrew O’Hagan William Sutcliffe
Ghiath al-Madhoun DAM Jeremy Harding Wasim Kurdi Michael Ondaatje Basima Takrori
Hanan Al-Shaykh Najwan Darwish Saidiya Hartman Laila Lalami Ursula Owen Ma’n Abu Taleb
Saleem Albeik Natalie Diaz Manal Hassan Rickey Laurentiis Michael Palin Rima Nasir Tarazi
Meena Alexander Dolores Dorantes Selina Hastings Ursula Lindsey Ed Pavlic Tashweesh
Taha Muhammed Ali Ministry of Dubkey Maya Abu Al Hayat Barry Lopez Richard Price Janne Teller
Suad Amiri Falastine Dwikat Haykal Sabrina Mahfouz Alexandra Pringle Basta Theatre
Sinan Antoon Geoff Dyer Sue Hill Jamal Mahjoub Mostafa Qossoqsi Basel Zayed & Turab
Mahmoud Abu Areesheh Jillian Edelstein Amer Hlehel Henning Mankell Marcia Lynx Qualey Hanna Vibeke-Holst
Nadeem Aslam Ben Ehrenreich Alaa Hlehel Ali Mawasi Mazin Qumsiyeh Taline Voskeritchian
Lina Attalah Mohamed Elshahed Sheikha Hlewa Colum McCann Bassem Ra’ad Alice Walker
Asmaa Azaizeh Salam Abu Emneh Rachel Holmes John McCarthy Mohana Rajkumar Dirk Wanrooij
Ahmad Azam Al Quds Ensemble John Horner Sarah McNally Youssef Rakha Tom Warner
Ibtisam Azem Eskenderella Othman Hussein Ritu Menon Eliza Robertson Wildworks
Annie Baker Amr Ezzat Aamer Hussein Clare Messud Bee Rowlatt Sara Yasin
Mourid Barghouti Alaa Abd El Fattah Sarah Ishaq China Mieville Amina Abu Safat Robin Yassin-Kassab
Eyad Barghuthy Rose Fenton Ian Jack Dimitri Mikelis Sapphire Gary Younge
Bidisha Richard Ford Chris Jackson Pankaj Mishra Imad Sayrafi Nora Younis
Malika Booker Adam Foulds Jafra Bill Mitchell Eugene Schoulgin Nariman Youssef
Francesca Borri Gilles Fraser May Jayyussi Deborah Moggach Atef Abu Seif Haifa Zangana
Lee Brackstone Ru Freeman Suzanne Joinson Madaa Moghraby Rachel Shaabi Amir Nizar Zuabi
Victoria Brittain Esther Freud Julmud Sahar el Mogy Kamila Shamsie
Jehan Bseiso Ragaa Ghanem Amani Juneidi Benjamin Moser Solmaz Sharif
Diana Buttu Mark Gonzales Remi Kanazi Sameh Mostafa Raja Shehadeh
Carmen Callil Abdulrazak Gurnah Ghada Karmi Muiz Abdelrahim El Sheikh

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CHINUA JOHN MAHMOUD SEAMUS HAROLD PHILIP EMMA

DAY 1 Amman - Ramallah

5pm Arrive in Ramallah

7pm Opening Event: The Ottoman Court

DAY 2 Ramallah - Jerusalem

9am Check out and board bus

11am Briefing from Ray Dolphin at UNOCHA

Chris Jackson and Jelani Cobb go through Qalandiya Checkpoint

DAY 2 Jerusalem - Al-Khalil/Hebron

2pm Depart for al-Khalil

5.30pm Briefing from the Hebron Rehabilitation Committee about the

9.30am Morning seminar at al-Quds Bard College.

11am Visit to the Museum of the Prisoner

12pm Drive to Bethlehem. Tour of the Old City.

DAY 3 Bethlehem - Jerusalem

4pm Return to Jerusalem, crossing Bethlehem checkpoint on foot.

British/Iraqi author, Haifa Zangana, speaks at Nordic Café, Jerusalem

DAY 4 Jerusalem - Haifa

9am Visit to al-Aqsa, co-ordinated with al-Waqf Authority

DAY 4 Jerusalem - Haifa

2pm Depart for Haifa

7pm Evening event at the Arab Culture Association, Haifa

DAY 5 Haifa - Nablus

9am Talk by Professor Nadeem Rouhana of Mada al-Carmel,

DAY 5 Haifa - Nablus

11am Tour of Haifa with urbanist Orwa Switat.

DAY 5 Haifa - Nablus

1pm Depart for Nablus

7pm Evening event in Nablus.

DAY 6 Nablus - Ramallah

8am Depart Nablus

9.30am Walk in the hills with Raja Shehadeh

Raja Shehada reads to PalFest authors in a lodge in the Ramallah countryside

DAY 6 Nablus - Ramallah

PalFest closing night at the Khalil Sakakini Cultural Centre, Ramallah

THIS IS NOT A BORDER

Events were organised to celebrate the publication of This Is Not a

Every event was full to capacity.

The London launch was featured as the LRB Bookshop’s podcast.

PalFest authors’ new writings on Palestine:

Ahdaf Soueif in the Guardian: On 10 Years

Yasmin El-Rifae in LitHub: Where Does Palestine Begin?

Ahdaf Soueif in Ahram Online: Siege

Yasmin El-Rifae in Mada Masr: Reaching

Nancy Kricorian in Armenian Weekly: Stories from the Armenian Quarter

Ma’an Abu Taleb in The White Review: A God Is All Over Me

BEYOND THE FESTIVAL

HAY FESTIVAL AWARD

BEYOND THE FESTIVAL

FABER SOCIAL FOR PALFEST PALFEST x TPFF

PalFest is not only

The most memorable,

Thanks for being who

Packed with so much

The most rewarding

One of the most

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