Tuqan, Fadwa (1917–2003)
Tuqan, Fadwa (1917–2003)
Palestinian poet and feminist. Name variations: Fadwa Toukan. Born Mar 1, 1917, in Nablus on the West Bank; died Dec 12, 2003, in Nablus; dau. of a soap manufacturer; studied with brother, poet Ibrahim Tuqan (died 1941); attended Oxford University, 1962–64; never married; no children.
One of the Arab world's most distinguished poets, lived childhood in seclusion; moved to Jerusalem to live with poet brother and his wife, where she met and corresponded with many other writers; had to return home when brother died (1941), resulting in My Brother Ibrahim (1946); when political turmoil erupted in Palestine (1948), joined factional and literary movements, and began to infuse her poetry with politics; writings include Wahdi m'a al-Ayyam (Alone with the Days, 1955), Amam al-Bab al-Mughlaq (Before the Closed Door, 1967), al-Layl Wa-al Fursan (Night and the Horsemen, 1969), Ala Qimmat al-Dunya Wahidan (Alone, at the Top of the World, 1973) and Kabus al-Layl Wa al-Nahar (Nightmare in Daylight, 1974).
See also autobiography A Mountainous Journey (trans. by Olive Kenny, 1990); and Women in World History.