New Book by Scholar Yousef Bakkar Explores the Literary Legacy of Palestinian Poet Fadwa Tuqan

A new book titled Fadwa Tuqan: Studies, Texts, and Selections by scholar and critic Dr. Yousef Bakkar has been released by "Dar Al-Aan Publishers" in Jordan. The volume documents key phases of the late Palestinian poet’s career through critical essays, prose pieces, and poetry selections.

This marks Bakkar’s second major publication on Tuqan, following his 2000 book The Forgotten Journey, which examined her formative early writings prior to her debut collection Alone with the Days and her memoir My Brother Ibrahim.

The book opens with an overview of Tuqan’s life—from her birth in Nablus in 1917 to her passing in 2003—highlighting the influential role of her brother, poet Ibrahim Tuqan, in shaping her early literary path. The content is structured into three main sections:

Section One: Features five critical studies on her poetic output, analyzing works like At the Closed Door and The Night and the Knights, alongside essays on resistance literature and her relationship with Jerusalem.

Section Two: Brings together uncollected poems and prose pieces spanning several decades, including early works from 1947 (Artillery Talk, Mercy) and later poems (The Big Question, Loneliness), as well as speeches and essays written after her two-part autobiography.

Section Three: Contains roughly 20 works of "forgotten poetry" selected across various stages of her life, offering fresh insight into the thematic and stylistic evolution of her craft.