“Hope will not die.” ft. Marwan Makhoul

My guest for this episode is the Palestinian poet, Marwan Makhoul. Marwan Makhoul was invited to the 2025 Taipei Poetry Festival, where he gave a powerful recital of his poem "New Gaza" at the opening ceremony. I had the honor to sit down and chat with Marwan on a sunny morning in Taipei, on October seventh, 2025. Marwan Makhoul is a Palestinian poet, born in 1979, of both Palestinian and Lebanese heritage. Marwan’s work is well-loved and celebrated around the world, and his poems have been translated into more than 24 languages. Besides poetry, Marwan has also published works in prose and drama.  In this episode, Marwan shares with us how he found his way to poetry and the important truths about Palestine inside his poems such as “New Gaza” – What is the historical significance behind words like “twice exiled” and “seventy five years too late”? What about the year 1948? We will learn more with Marwan. Towards the end, Marwan also shares with us his time together with the celebrated, legendary Palestinian poet, Mahmoud Darwish, who was like a father to him.  This interview is in English and Arabic, where you would hear me asking questions in English, Marwan answering in Arabic, and our two-way interpreter Yahya doing consecutive interpreting. Don’t forget to check out video highlights of this episode on Instagram @sharonlin_human Audio at the beginning (Provided by Marwan Makhoul): It’s the live recording of Marwan Makhoul reciting "New Gaza" at the open event of the 2025 Taipei Poetry Festival, with live music performed live by Mia Hsieh and Scott Prairie (Co directors of A Moving Sound).  Interpretor: Yahya Namiq Pshdari Follow Marwan’s work: Instagram: @marwan_makhoul YouTube: https://youtube.com/@marwanmakhool?si=Xg7gh-Tv3urB5DEn Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1WMTmwfz4m/?mibextid=wwXIfr X: https://x.com/marwanmakhoul?s=11 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@marwan.makhoul1?_r=1&_t=ZS-92676xiudJo Leave a comment and share your thoughts: https://open.firstory.me/user/cm2ebvejd0gjh01srcqsb2so3/comments Powered by Firstory Hosting