Ghassan Kanafani

Ghassan Kanafani is one of the most well-known Arab writers and journalists of the past century. Born in Palestine in 1936, Kanafani and his family were forced to flee his homeland during the Nakba – after which he lived and worked in Damascus, Kuwait and finally, from 1960, Beirut. Kanafani was assassinated in 1972 by a car bomb planted by Israeli agents. His writings have inspired generations of Palestinians and those standing in solidarity with their cause.Louis Brehony is an award-winning researcher on political culture, musician, writer and activist. He is the author of Palestinian Music in Exile and director of the documentary film Kofia: A Revolution Through Music.Tahrir Hamdi is a Professor of Resistance Literature at the Arab Open University, Jordan. She is author of the prizewinning Imagining Palestine, and assistant editor of Arab Studies Quarterly.

'Ghassan Kanafani is a giant for many reasons, foremost among them his unwavering commitment to class analysis and critique, and his mastery of these two transformative (but undervalued) political frameworks. Kanafani’s revolutionary writings are as elucidating as they are incendiary, transcending the reductive identitarianism that often hinders revolutionary literature, transcending perfunctory symbolism and inaccessible jargon, and cutting through the noise of ‘blind language.’ No other author has been as profoundly formative for me as Kanafani, and I am certain this holds true for countless others—writers or otherwise, Palestinians and beyond. English-speakers are fortunate to access a fraction of his formidable erudition through this collection.'

• Introduction: The Revolutionary Journey of Ghassan Kanafani - Louis Brehony and Tahrir HamdiPart I. Revolutionary routes: Arab Nationalism and Socialism1. On Childhood, Literature, Marxism, the Front and al-Hadaf (1972) - Introduction by Hania A. M. Nashef2. Yemen and Iraq: One Story or Two? (1964) - Introduction by Patrick Higgins3. Fares Fares: This is the Famous Professor (1965) - Introduction by As'ad AbuKhalilPart II. War, Defeat and Revolutionary Critique4. Resistance is the Essence (1967) - Introduction by Louis Brehony5. Thoughts on Change and the 'Blind Language' (1968) - Introduction by Rabab Abdulhadi6. Will the September Settlement Surprise Us? (1969) - Introduction by Louis BrehonyPart III. 'The Target.' Building the Marxist-Leninist Front7. Excerpts from Strategy for the Liberation of Palestine (1969) - Introduction by Khaled Barakat8. The Resistance and its Challenges: View of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (1970) - Introduction by Max Ajl9. The Underlying Synthesis of the Revolution: Document on the Organisational Weapon (1971) - Introduction by Wissam Rafeedie10. On the PFLP and the September Crisis (1971) - Introduction by Thomas HoflandPart IV. Kanafani and the Media11. "A conversation between the sword and the neck" (1970) - Introduction by Romana Rubeo12. Denmark: A Study in Media Experience (1972) - Introduction by Ibrahim Aoude13. Concerning the Case of Abu Hamidu: Issues of Media 'Exchange' with the Enemy (1972) - Introduction by Asma HussainPart V. Intifadas of Thought: Looking to the Future14. The Secret Alliance Between Saudi Arabia and Israel (1970) - Introduction by Nafez Ghneim15. Towards a Constructive Dialogue on Palestinian National Unity (1969) - Introduction by Tahrir Hamdi16. The Armed Action Unit: In Light of Recent Developments (1969) - Introduction by Tahrir HamdiAppendix: Reflections on the Early Works of Ghassan Kanafani - Amira Silmi, Romana Rubeo, Ramzy Baroud and Malek Abisaab, Introduction by Louis Brehony