A famous Palestinian author is named Issa J. Boullata. Not only is he a writer, but he is a scholar and translates Arabic literature. Issa was born in Jerusalem on the 29th of February in 1929. He has a BA in Arabic and Islamic studies as well as a PhD in Arabic literature. Not only is he a well known author, but he has been known to be a very influential teacher. After teaching graduate courses about Arabic literature and Quranic Studies, he retires with the title of Emeritus Professor. Issa also was awarded the Arkansas Arabic Translation Award twice. Today he lives in Montreal and is a member of many organizations like the Radius of Arab American Writers Inc. Currently, he is the editor of Banipal. His most well known work is “Modern Arab Poets”, “The First Well”, “The Game of Forgetting”, and Ghada Samman;s The Square Moon”. Recently, many of his short stories were published in the book, “A Retired Gentleman and Other Stories”.
Saleem Dabbour was born on September 18, 1970. He is a Palestinian novelist, scenarist, director, producer, and a film critic. He became very famous due to writing “Shu fi Ma fi” and “Shubak al-Ankab”. Saleem was born in Jalazone, Palestine. In 1998, he was given Dutch citizenship because of the Queen Beatirx. He attended Bir Zeit University and graduated with a BA in English Literature. He first started getting recognition for his writing at the age of twelve. When he was twelve years old, one of his poems was published in the Al-Quds. Al-Quds was a well known Palestinian newspaper. When he attended Bir Zeit University in the Netherlands, Saleem was the editor for English and Arabic student magazines. When he was twenty two years old, Dabbour wrote his first theater play called, “Khaliluha”. Not only did he write it, but he produced and directed it as well. “Khaliluha” was a play that called social customs of early marriage into question. During his lifetime, Saleem has won many literary prizes like the “First Prize for Short Prose”. Recently, Saleem was voted into the top five for “Cultural Personalities in Palestine in Means”. Today he is a CEO for IMPACT. IMPACT is a nonprofit organization that creates visual productions for social change.
Another famous Palestinian author is Kamal Nasser. Kamal was born in Bir Zeit during the year of 1925. He was raised in a Palestinian Christian family household. He attended Bit Zeit University where he majored in political science. After he graduated, Kamal became a teacher in Jerusalem and then became a journalist after the Arab-Israeli War. He helped start up the ,militant newspaper, “Al-Jil Al-Jadid”. During the year of 1956, Kamal was elected to be a member of Jordanian Parliament for the Ramallah district. However, he was not able to serve his full term because he was expelled from Parliament. He was expelled because of a marital law period in Jordan. After being expelled, Kamal became an editor for a PLO newspaper. After be an editor for that newspaper for awhile, Kamal became a spokesman for them too. In 1973, Kamal was assassinated by Israel Defense Forces during the raid on Lebanon. In order to honor Kamal, the main auditorium at Birzeit University was named after him.
A well known Palestinian actress is named Hiam Abbass. She was born in Nazareth on November 30, 1960. Her career really started when she starred in some European films like Haifa. She was able to move to Hollywood basically because of Steven Spielberg. She was in his movie “Munich”. “Munich” is a political thriller about the mother of a terrorist. Hiam is more well known for her parts in “Satin Rouge”, “Haifa”, and “Paradise Now”. Recently, Hiam has directed two short movies called, “Le Pain” and “La Danse Eternelle”.
Sources:
http://www.thehypertexts.com/Kamal%20Nasser%20Poet%20Poetry%20Picture%20Bio%20Nakba%20Palestinian.htm
