Samira Azzam

Samira Azzam (September 13, 1927 - August 8, 1967) was a Palestinian writer, broadcaster, and translator [1] known for her collections of short stories. In 1948, Azzam fled Palestine with her husband and family in the midst of the 1948 Palestine War. Her collections of stories are renowned for examining the entirety of the Palestinian identity during this time period.[2] Her first set of short stories, Small Things, was published in 1954, and examined women's role in Palestinian society. After returning to Beirut in 1959, she examined other Palestinian social structures such as the class hierarchy. She published two more collections of short stories during her life, The Big Shadow and The Clock and the Man. Throughout her writing, she does not cast blame as to the cause of these social structures, but rather creates plot lines that characterize these different sub-cultures within Palestinian society, relating them to political situation of this historical period. Therefore, her writing creates a very holistic view of Palestinian national identity during this time in history.

Life

Samira Azzam was born into a Christian Orthodox family [3] in Acre, Palestine. She attended elementary school in Acre and high school in Haifa at "Takmilyet Al-Rahibat." [4] before becoming a school teacher at age 16. During this time, she began writing articles for a Palestinian newspaper under the alias “Coastal Girl.” In 1948, Azzam and her family were relocated to Lebanon due to the 1948 Palestinian exodus. Azzam left her family after two years to become the headmistress of an all girls school in Iraq.[3] It was in Iraq that she began her career as a radio broadcaster for the Near East Asia Broadcasting Company.[3] First, she wrote for the program “Women's Corner” [4] before being moved to Beirut by the broadcasting station, where she was the head of the program “With the Morning.”.[4] Her voice became a regular presence in the lives of many Arabs, making her writing all the more powerful.[3]

On December 24, 1959, Azzam married Adib Yousef Hasan. They returned to Iraq for a short period of time, however, had to leave shortly after. When the monarchy fell, the new republic accused Azzam's broadcasts of being hostile towards the new regime [4] Upon her return to Beirut, she began writing for numerous women's publications and as well as translating English classics into Arabic.[3] She became extremely politically active in the 1960s.[5]

Samira Azzam died of a heart attack on August 8, 1967.

Writing and major themes

Azzam's writing, in many cases, revolved around the "Palestinian experience in the Diaspora".[6] Major themes in her works included precision and control—her stories often revolving around a specific action or choice . (Jayyusi) Azzam's first collection of short stories, titled “Little Things,” was published in 1954.[4] Throughout this collection, characters struggle and in many cases, fail in their endeavors. They lack a sense of identity or purpose.[3] She became extremely politically active in the 1960s.[5] In her story "Because he Loved Them," Azzam portrays a hardworking farmer who loses everything in the 1948 Exodus. He is then reduced to peasant status, turning to alcohol for comfort. The story ends in him murdering his wife in a drunken rage.[7] Throughout the story, he is not characterized as evil or vengeful, but rather a man of noble character who was so affected by losing everything he loved that he made poor decisions.[7]

Especially in her early writing, Azzam develops an extensive commentary on women in society, however does not take the traditional feminist viewpoint. Instead of blaming the struggles women face on oppression by men, she attributes them to society as a whole.[3] This commentary is also developed in "Because he Loved Them." Azzam blames the wife's murder on the circumstances surrounding her husband rather than the husband. The fault is on society and the political situation of the time, not the male character, characterizing the woman as a "victim of circumstance".[7]

Though at first, Azzam heavily masked her political views in her writing, as she continued to publish her work, it became more and more obvious her stories were an allegory for Palestinian political struggles. Her views on these struggles also surfaced, sometimes overpowering the artistic value of the story.[3] She became extremely politically active in the 1960s.[5] In her story "On the Way to Solomon's Pools," Azzam tells the story of a village teacher who single handedly tries to take down the encroaching Israeli forces. Though ultimately unsuccessful, his struggle represents the Palestinian fight for survival, even when faced with insurmountable opposition. He then buries his only son in the soil under a tree. This action represents the ever present feeling of hope within the Palestine people that one day, their home will belong to them again.[7]

Many of the motifs found in her stories stem from the struggles Azzam faced throughout her life. Her heroines are largely independent, many of whom work, just as Azzam did from an early age. Many of them are responsible for supporting their family and appreciate the value of money and the comfort it allows them.[3] Her characters are generally viewed as extremely realistic, even by contemporary critics.[3] She focused on struggles faced by the common people, though she did not necessarily belong to this demographic. Azzam embodied the entirety of the Palestinian identity in her writing, making her a literary emblem of this time frame.

Throughout the 1960s, much of her efforts were put toward drafting a novel, which she reportedly destroyed upon hearing of the Arabs' defeat during the six-day war.[3] The novel was titled Sinai Without Borders. Two volumes of her stories were published posthumously.

Works

• Little Things (1954 – stories)
• The Big Shadow (1956 – stories)
• And Other Stories (1960 – stories)
• The Clock and the Man (1963 – stories)
• The Festival Through the Western Window (1971 – stories)
• Echoes (2000 – stories)

References

1. Elmessiri, Abdel; Elmessiri, Nur (1998). A Land of Stone and Thyme: and Anthology of Palestinian Short Stories. Quartet Books, Limited. p. 244. ISBN 9780704370920.
2. Miller, Jane Eldridge (2001). Who's Who in Contemporary Women's Writing. London: Routledge.
3. Piselli, Kathyanne (1988). "Samira Azzam: Author's Works and Vision". International Journal of Middle East Studies. Cambridge University Press. 20: 93–100. doi:10.1017/S0020743800057524.
4. "Samira Azzam: A Profile from the Archives". Jadaliyya.
5. Khalil-Habib, Nejmeh. "Samira Azzam (1926-1967): Memory of a Lost Land" (PDF). www.nobleworld.biz.
6. Jayyusi, Salma Khadra (1992). Anthology of Modern Palestinian LIterature. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-07509-1.
7. Suleiman, Yasir (1991). "Palestine and the Palestinians in the Short Stories of Samīra ʿAzzām". Journal of Arabic Literature. 22 (2): 154–165. doi:10.1163/157006491x00142.