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Enemy of the Sun: Poetry of Palestinian Resistance
A collection of Palestinian poetry originally published in 1970 that resonates with liberation and civil rights struggles around the world.
This beloved poetry collection was originally published by Drum and Spear, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)’s publishing house and bookstore.
This updated edition for the current generation of activists features new poems translated by Edmund Ghareeb, one of the editors and translators and an internationally recognized Lebanese-American scholar, and a new foreword by Dr. Greg Thomas, Associate Professor of Black Studies and English Literature at Tufts University.
In 1971, in the wake of George Jackson’s killing by San Quentin prison guards, a poem entitled “Enemy of the Sun” was found among ninety-nine books in the revolutionary’s cell. The handwritten poem came to be circulated in Black Panther newspapers under Jackson’s name, assumed to be a vestige of his more than a decade long incarceration. But Jackson never wrote the poem; it was authored by the Palestinian poet Sameeh Al-Qassem and had been included in an anthology of the same title a year before Jackson’s death.
Originally published by Drum & Spear, the publishing arm of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, Enemy of the Poetry of Palestinian Resistance links twelve poets working in a poetics of refusal and of hope. Bearing witness to decades of Zionist occupation, to a diaspora exiled in refugee camps and writers held captive in Israeli jails, the collection offers a means to an “as poetry, yes it sings—as bullets on a mission; it calls for change.” Poets in the collection
Sameeh Al-Qassem (1939-2014) is one of Palestine’s most cherished poets whose career spanned decades. He lived in the village of Al Remeh in Galilee. He refused to be drafted into the Israeli army and recited resistance-themed poetry at public village gatherings. It was said that his poetry to his people was “like a lifeboat to a drowning man.”Mahmoud Darweesh (1941-2008) is regarded as Palestine's national poet. His family was expelled from their village of al-Birweh during The Nakba in 1948 and they took refuge in Lebanon. He was imprisoned by the Israeli army many times.
Rashed Hussein (1936-1977) was a Palestinian-American poet who published multiple books of poetry and was also popular for his translations of Hebrew poetry to Arabic.
Fadwa Touqan (1917-2003) was born into a distinguished Palestinian family, her brother Ibrahim was a well-known Palestinian nationalist poet. In her own work she explored the feminist struggle in patriarchal society, famously linking it to Palestine’s quest for liberation.
Tawfiq Zayyad (1929-1997) was a Palestinian poet and a prominent political figure who served as mayor of Nazareth. He was known for integrating his emotionally moving poetry into his poignant political speeches.
In each poem is a whole life—joy, love, beauty, rage, sorrow, suffering—and in each life is a record of the traces of a people who refuse to leave their homeland, who time and again alchemize grief into principled struggle.
This beloved poetry collection was originally published by Drum and Spear, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)’s publishing house and bookstore.
This updated edition for the current generation of activists features new poems translated by Edmund Ghareeb, one of the editors and translators and an internationally recognized Lebanese-American scholar, and a new foreword by Dr. Greg Thomas, Associate Professor of Black Studies and English Literature at Tufts University.
In 1971, in the wake of George Jackson’s killing by San Quentin prison guards, a poem entitled “Enemy of the Sun” was found among ninety-nine books in the revolutionary’s cell. The handwritten poem came to be circulated in Black Panther newspapers under Jackson’s name, assumed to be a vestige of his more than a decade long incarceration. But Jackson never wrote the poem; it was authored by the Palestinian poet Sameeh Al-Qassem and had been included in an anthology of the same title a year before Jackson’s death.
Originally published by Drum & Spear, the publishing arm of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, Enemy of the Poetry of Palestinian Resistance links twelve poets working in a poetics of refusal and of hope. Bearing witness to decades of Zionist occupation, to a diaspora exiled in refugee camps and writers held captive in Israeli jails, the collection offers a means to an “as poetry, yes it sings—as bullets on a mission; it calls for change.” Poets in the collection
Sameeh Al-Qassem (1939-2014) is one of Palestine’s most cherished poets whose career spanned decades. He lived in the village of Al Remeh in Galilee. He refused to be drafted into the Israeli army and recited resistance-themed poetry at public village gatherings. It was said that his poetry to his people was “like a lifeboat to a drowning man.”Mahmoud Darweesh (1941-2008) is regarded as Palestine's national poet. His family was expelled from their village of al-Birweh during The Nakba in 1948 and they took refuge in Lebanon. He was imprisoned by the Israeli army many times.
Rashed Hussein (1936-1977) was a Palestinian-American poet who published multiple books of poetry and was also popular for his translations of Hebrew poetry to Arabic.
Fadwa Touqan (1917-2003) was born into a distinguished Palestinian family, her brother Ibrahim was a well-known Palestinian nationalist poet. In her own work she explored the feminist struggle in patriarchal society, famously linking it to Palestine’s quest for liberation.
Tawfiq Zayyad (1929-1997) was a Palestinian poet and a prominent political figure who served as mayor of Nazareth. He was known for integrating his emotionally moving poetry into his poignant political speeches.
In each poem is a whole life—joy, love, beauty, rage, sorrow, suffering—and in each life is a record of the traces of a people who refuse to leave their homeland, who time and again alchemize grief into principled struggle.
289 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 16, 2025
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November 22, 2023Published in 1970 by the DC-based black press and bookstore Drum & Spear (which encountered intense harassment by the FBI as part of their war on black bookstores). Little known now but v influential at the time--sold 10,000 copies. Really curious editorial decisions. Poems appear w/o their authors in the book. Authors only listed in ToC. So the poems emerge as the product of a quasi-communal voice. Publishing it was a deeply radical act. If you want a copy hmu.
November 4, 2025
“You may take the last strip of my land,
Feed my youth to prison cells.
You may plunder my heritage.
You may burn my books, my poems
Or feed my flesh to the dogs.
You may spread a web of terror
On the roofs of my village,
O enemy of the sun,
But
I shall not compromise
And to the last pulse in my veins
I shall resist.”
I learned of this book after reading that it was one of the books recovered from George Jackson’s cell after his death, and it falls in the same liberatory spirit as his work and writings. It is apparent that the editors put in a lot of work to introduce and contextualize these poems, in addition to the task of assembling the poems themselves (and the illustrations as well!) This is a beautiful and galvanizing collection of poetry. I hope to see a free Palestine in my lifetime 🇵🇸
Feed my youth to prison cells.
You may plunder my heritage.
You may burn my books, my poems
Or feed my flesh to the dogs.
You may spread a web of terror
On the roofs of my village,
O enemy of the sun,
But
I shall not compromise
And to the last pulse in my veins
I shall resist.”
I learned of this book after reading that it was one of the books recovered from George Jackson’s cell after his death, and it falls in the same liberatory spirit as his work and writings. It is apparent that the editors put in a lot of work to introduce and contextualize these poems, in addition to the task of assembling the poems themselves (and the illustrations as well!) This is a beautiful and galvanizing collection of poetry. I hope to see a free Palestine in my lifetime 🇵🇸
October 29, 2023
"Because I do not knit wool
Because I am always hunted
And my house is always raided.
Because I cannot own a piece of paper,
I shall carve my memoirs
On the home yard olive tree."
Because I am always hunted
And my house is always raided.
Because I cannot own a piece of paper,
I shall carve my memoirs
On the home yard olive tree."
September 30, 2025
"oh poetry, be angry oh prose, be bitter oh mind, be rebellious"
October 20, 2024
“each dawn has a date with revolution”
December 14, 2025
Out of print for over 50 years, Enemy of the Sun: Poetry of Palestinian Resistance is poetry of the particular that speaks to the universal, of the rights and desires of a people to independence, dignity and self-determination. First published in 1970, this 2025 edition includes all the poems from the original edition, plus some new ones by poets penned as recently as 2024.
When he was murdered by prison guards at the age of 29, activist George Jackson left a few belongings behind in his cell, including some notes scribbled on whatever he could find to write on. Among these was the poem "Enemy of the Sun." Originally attributed to Jackson, it was later discovered that the poem was by Palestinian poet Sameeh Al-Qassem. Both the original preface to Enemy of the Sun and the preface to the 2025 edition make explicit the parallels between the Palestinian struggle for freedom and dignity in occupied Palestine and the same struggle in the United States (Occupied Turtle Island), led by the likes of George Jackson and the Black Panthers.
The work compiles pieces by many poets, including Al-Qassem, Mahmoud Darwish, Rashed Hussein, Tawfiq Zayyad, Fadwa Touqan, Kamal Nasser and his mother, Wadi'a Nasser, and many others. The words cut like knives and explode in the faces of the oppressors. They are words of hope, of resilience, of great depth and beauty, words that ring true as much today as they did when this collection first appeared in print.
When he was murdered by prison guards at the age of 29, activist George Jackson left a few belongings behind in his cell, including some notes scribbled on whatever he could find to write on. Among these was the poem "Enemy of the Sun." Originally attributed to Jackson, it was later discovered that the poem was by Palestinian poet Sameeh Al-Qassem. Both the original preface to Enemy of the Sun and the preface to the 2025 edition make explicit the parallels between the Palestinian struggle for freedom and dignity in occupied Palestine and the same struggle in the United States (Occupied Turtle Island), led by the likes of George Jackson and the Black Panthers.
The work compiles pieces by many poets, including Al-Qassem, Mahmoud Darwish, Rashed Hussein, Tawfiq Zayyad, Fadwa Touqan, Kamal Nasser and his mother, Wadi'a Nasser, and many others. The words cut like knives and explode in the faces of the oppressors. They are words of hope, of resilience, of great depth and beauty, words that ring true as much today as they did when this collection first appeared in print.
July 22, 2025
Originally published in 1970, "Enemy of the Sun: Poetry of Palestinian Resistance" has been revived to include new poetry from modern Palestinian authors. These poems are an extremely powerful depiction of the Palestinian resistance against occupation as it has evolved through the last several decades. An extremely important anthology to read right now.
November 14, 2025
First published in 1970 and long out of print, the original intention behind this collection of “Poetry of Palestinian Resistance” aimed to highlight the similar plights faced by Palestinians and Black Americans in their struggle for civil rights. The activist and Black Panther Party leader George Jackson (author of Soledad Brother and Blood in My Eye) was so inspired by the collection that one of the poems Jackson copied down to share with other Black activists was mistaken as his own. Fifty-five years later, the plight of Muslims in Gaza have only worsened, and Black Americans as a group remain behind their white cohorts in terms of education and economics.
Of the original contributors, Westerners may be familiar with the poetry of Mahmoud Darweesh, Haroun Hashim Rashid, and Kamal Nassar. Four other poets contribute work written since the Israeli government’s attempted annihilation of Gazans after Hamas’s ill-considered slaughter and kidnapping of Jews who lived on the other side of the Gaza Strip in October 2023.
In 1970 (let alone today), which black citizen of the U.S. couldn’t empathize with Sameeh al-Qassem’s “A Hanging Human 1964”?
One of the toys that appeared on the Israeli market was that of a “hanged Arab.”
A hanging human body
The prettiest of toys
The Sweetest recreation for children
Displayed on the market!
No, it is not there anymore
It has been sold out for days
Don’t search for it, tell your child
It’s sold out for days!
Oh, souls of those
Dead in Nazi concentration camps—
The hanged human
Is not a Jew in Berlin.
The hanged human is an Arab
Like me, of my people
Hanged by your brother—
Forgive me, hanged by the crypto Nazis
In Zion!
Souls of the victims
Of Nazi camps—
If only you knew!
If only you knew!
For more of my reviews, please see https://www.thebookbeat.com/backroom/...
Of the original contributors, Westerners may be familiar with the poetry of Mahmoud Darweesh, Haroun Hashim Rashid, and Kamal Nassar. Four other poets contribute work written since the Israeli government’s attempted annihilation of Gazans after Hamas’s ill-considered slaughter and kidnapping of Jews who lived on the other side of the Gaza Strip in October 2023.
In 1970 (let alone today), which black citizen of the U.S. couldn’t empathize with Sameeh al-Qassem’s “A Hanging Human 1964”?
One of the toys that appeared on the Israeli market was that of a “hanged Arab.”
A hanging human body
The prettiest of toys
The Sweetest recreation for children
Displayed on the market!
No, it is not there anymore
It has been sold out for days
Don’t search for it, tell your child
It’s sold out for days!
Oh, souls of those
Dead in Nazi concentration camps—
The hanged human
Is not a Jew in Berlin.
The hanged human is an Arab
Like me, of my people
Hanged by your brother—
Forgive me, hanged by the crypto Nazis
In Zion!
Souls of the victims
Of Nazi camps—
If only you knew!
If only you knew!
For more of my reviews, please see https://www.thebookbeat.com/backroom/...
January 31, 2024
"Here, we shall remain
A wall on your chests.
We starve,
Go naked,
Sing songs
And fill the streets
With demonstrations
And the jails with pride.
We breed rebellions
One after another.
Like twenty impossibles we remain
In Lydda, Ramlah, Galilee.
Here, we shall remain.
You may drink the sea;
We shall guard the shade
Of the olive tree and the fig,
Planting ideas
Like the yeast in the dough.
The coldness of ice is in our nerves
And a burning hell in our hearts.
We squeeze the rock
To quench our thirst
And if we starve
We eat the dirt
And never depart
Or grudge our blood.
Here―we have a past
―a present
―and a future.
Our roots are entrenched
Deep in the earth.
Like twenty impossibles
We shall remain"
A wall on your chests.
We starve,
Go naked,
Sing songs
And fill the streets
With demonstrations
And the jails with pride.
We breed rebellions
One after another.
Like twenty impossibles we remain
In Lydda, Ramlah, Galilee.
Here, we shall remain.
You may drink the sea;
We shall guard the shade
Of the olive tree and the fig,
Planting ideas
Like the yeast in the dough.
The coldness of ice is in our nerves
And a burning hell in our hearts.
We squeeze the rock
To quench our thirst
And if we starve
We eat the dirt
And never depart
Or grudge our blood.
Here―we have a past
―a present
―and a future.
Our roots are entrenched
Deep in the earth.
Like twenty impossibles
We shall remain"
April 2, 2024
this book was one of the 99 in the greatest amerikan revolutionary's prison cell after his assassination. and the afterlives of george jackson’s handwritten transcription of two of samih al-qasim’s poems will continue to resound until (and after) freedom is won and all the prisons and walls are torn down. there was a short story by an iraqi author in an edition of the PLO / PLA’s journal of resistance that detailed how the words of ghassan kanafani’s men in the sun quite literally transformed into bullets. these poems are bullets, have become bullets, will continue to be taken up with arms in a revolution until victory
September 23, 2025
Another banger. Read it.
“Mahmoud Darweesh—greetings
Tawfiq Zayyad—greetings
Fadwa Touqan—greetings
You, who sharpen pencils on your ribs
we learn from you
how to explode mines in words
Poets of the occupied land
our “daraweesh” in the east
are still watching pigeons
drinking green cups of tea
If they stand beside your poetry
They would be dwarfed.”
“Mahmoud Darweesh—greetings
Tawfiq Zayyad—greetings
Fadwa Touqan—greetings
You, who sharpen pencils on your ribs
we learn from you
how to explode mines in words
Poets of the occupied land
our “daraweesh” in the east
are still watching pigeons
drinking green cups of tea
If they stand beside your poetry
They would be dwarfed.”
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September 10, 2025It's a bit hard to rate an anthology, especially one of poetry. Some are a hit, some a miss. It was, nevertheless, poignant that the collection ended with 'Gaza Will Rise'. InshaAllah.
I'll probably add my favourite poems here from the collection in due time.
I'll probably add my favourite poems here from the collection in due time.
May 13, 2025
found through jstor for a class project and then read on internet archive, and so glad i did.
June 1, 2025
literally enemy of the sun
September 15, 2025
I have long wanted to read this collection since Hanif Abdurraqib talked about its importance on Instagram. So I was thrilled to find it was being reissued & expanded this year!
The additional introductions & forewords provide context for the publication of the original book. I found this fascinating because it talks about the links & solidarity between the Black Panther party & the Palestinian resistance.
The poems themselves are beautiful & heartbreaking & inspiring. This is an anthology I will absolutely be buying my own copy of because I know I will want to return to it time & time again.
*read via Edelweiss
The additional introductions & forewords provide context for the publication of the original book. I found this fascinating because it talks about the links & solidarity between the Black Panther party & the Palestinian resistance.
The poems themselves are beautiful & heartbreaking & inspiring. This is an anthology I will absolutely be buying my own copy of because I know I will want to return to it time & time again.
*read via Edelweiss
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews