Odbijanje položaja nijeme žrtve u izvedbenoj poeziji palestinske autorice Rafeef Ziadah / Resisting the Position of the Mute Victim in the Spoken Word Poetry of the Palestinian Author Rafeef Ziadah

Abstract

Spoken word poetry is crafted for public performance, created with the intent of being heard and observed, rather than merely read. Common themes in contemporary performance poetry are social injustice, violence, identity issues, and gender and racial discrimination. Palestinian-Canadian poet Rafeef Ziadah addresses the plight of Palestinians in her works published across three albums—Hadeel, We Teach Life, and Three Generations. Her poetry explores their war-related suffering, the prolonged apartheid policies against them, displacement, and life in the diaspora. Additionally, her themes encompass the status of Arab women, homelessness, widespread disenfranchisement, and the suffering experienced by marginalized groups—including women, children, and migrants. The suffering of others, often encountered through media, frequently leads to a certain saturation and indifference (Sontag), accompanied by a cynical perception that not all human lives merit equal sorrow (Butler). Thriugh her poetry, Ziadah rebels against the callous perpetrators and indifferent media, vehemently refusing to let Palestinians be rendered mute and passive subjects of reporting. She restores human dignity to victims, grants them voice and identity, advocates for resistance on their behalf, grieves for them, thus affirming that their lives are worthy of being lived.