Salman Masalha (Arabic:سلمان مصالحة,Hebrew:סלמאן מצאלחה; born November 4, 1953) is an Arab-Israeli poet, writer, essayist and translator. Masalha is a bilingual writer who writes inArabic andHebrew, and publishes in both languages.[1] His poetry has also appeared in other languages.[2] Masalha is a frequent contributor to left-leaning Israeli newspaperHaaretz.[3][4]
Masalha was born on November 4, 1953, to aDruze family inMaghar, a village in theGalilee in northernIsrael. After graduating from high school he moved toJerusalem, where he has been living since 1972. Masalha studied at theHebrew University of Jerusalem and holds a Ph.D. degree inArabic literature. He wrote his thesis on the mythological elements of ancientArabic poetry. He taught Arabic language and literature at the Hebrew University and served as co-editor of the Concordance of Early Arabic Poetry. One volume of the concordance titledSix Early Arab Poets: New Edition and Concordance was published in 1999.[5]
Masalha is the author of eight volumes of poetry. Some of his Arabic and Hebrew poems have been performed to music and recorded by leading Israeli and Palestinian musicians, including Marwan Abado, Kamilya Jubran, Micha Shitrit, andYair Dalal.
In 2006, Masalha was awarded the Israel's President's Prize for Literature for his collection of Hebrew poetryIn Place.[6]
After first declaring he intended to boycott the 2015 general election, he ultimately endorsedMeretz.[7]
Fahm al-Mantuqفهم المنطوق [Between the Lines](PDF) (in Arabic). Elaph Library. 2010. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 14 July 2011. Retrieved3 May 2010.
Six Early Arab Poets, new edition and concordance, (co-author), Institute of Asian and African Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, The Max Schloessinger Memorial Series, Jerusalem 1999
אספקטים מיתולוגיים בשירה הערבית הקדומה [Mythological Aspects in Ancient Arabic Poetry] (Ph.D thesis thesis). The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. 1998.
Mahmoud Darwish,Memory for Forgetfulness, also known:Beirut Diary (Arabic: ذاكرة للنسيان, Hebrew: זכר לשכחה), with commentary and epilogue, Schocken Publications, Tel Aviv 1989
