The Famous Palestinian Writer and Educator Majdi Shomali Visits An-Najah
On April 11th, the Faculty of Educational Science at An-Najah held a meeting with the prominent Palestinian writer Majdi Shomali for the students of the “Children Literature” course in coordination with the course instructor Muna Shaath.
Shomali was born in Beit Sahor where he lives now; he is a prominent poet and writer of children books and is also an active consultant for both the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Culture. Shomali is a frequent visitor to Palestinian universities where he holds workshops for students on the art of literature especially children books, sharing his experience with both students and staff.
In the meeting Shomali discussed with the students his book “Summer 67” in which he talks about the life of a group of Palestinian Youth, their parents, teachers and how they dealt with the social, economical and political circumstances after the 1967 war. The writer succeeded in creating an image of unification between the love of the land and nature and that of the country; he also depicted the brotherhood among the Palestinians.
The students also discussed with the writer the philosophy he adopts in dealing with the stories that target children. He also explained his perception of the time and place frame of children stories and how the children’s behavior can be modified and how they can be guided psychologically through the story.
The students discussed other topics related to children books and his approach and philosophy concerning that. Students found it quite an enriching experience to brain storm and reflect with the writer and on all these issues and for the writer to bond and speculate with his young readers in Palestine.
