PEOPLE YOU
SHOULD KNOW
Known as the “Poetess of Palestine,’’ Fadwa Tuqan witnessed a turbulent period in her country’s history. She was born in 1917 while Palestine was under British rule. Although she came from a wealthy family, her strict home life made it difficult for Tuqan to receive an education.
Her brother, the well-known poet Ibrahim Tuqan, noticed his sister’s interest in poetry and began teaching her at home.
Fadwa began to write poems about her personal experiences as a woman in Palestine.
Following the wars of 1948 and 1967, she became more interested in politics. Her poetry began to focus on her experience living under Israeli occupation and the struggles of the Palestinian people.
Today, she is considered an important figure in Arabic literature and the most famous female poet in Palestine.
Born in Königsberg, Prussia, Lea Goldberg would grow up to become an influential Hebrew-language poet. She spent her early childhood in Kovno, Lithuania. Then, during World War I, the Russian government forced her family and many other Jews to leave their homes.
After the war, she returned to Lithuania and began writing poems at 12 years old.
Although her parents did not speak Hebrew, Goldberg learned the language at a young age and went on to study it at university.
During her career, she also worked as a translator, teacher, children’s book author, and playwright. Today, her writings are considered classics of Israeli literature.