Poetics of resistance in Mohammed El-Kurd’s spoken word collection "Bellydancing on wounds"
Poetics of resistance in Mohammed El-Kurd’s spoken word collection "Bellydancing on wounds"

Summary/Abstract: Palestinian poetry has a tradition of serving as a tool against colonialism and occupation.The main goals of this article are (1) to analyze three of Mohammed El-Kurd’s spoken word poemswithin this tradition and demonstrate how he creates a poetics of resistance; (2) to identify theirstrategic location and formation. A close reading guided by Edward Said’s Orientalism (2003) andan analysis of performative elements informed the study of “Figs, Bitch!” (2019a), “My NakbaBirthday” (2019b), and “This Is Why We Dance” (2019c). The article shows that El-Kurd’s personalnarrative, his incorporation of cultural elements, his use of metaphor and imagery, combined withperformative delivery, challenge colonial narratives that dehumanize the Palestinian and activelyassert control over self-definition.

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