Speak, Bird, Speak Again

Ibrahim Muhawi is Courtesy Professor of Comparative Literature at the University of Oregon. He has taught in North America, Middle East, North Africa, and Europe and is a recipient of the PEN Translation Prize.Sharif Kanaana has taught at the University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh; An-Najah University in Nablus, Palestine; and Birzeit University in Birzeit, Palestine, where he was a professor in the Department of Social and Behavioral Science until his retirement. He has published over forty books and over eighty research articles in English and Arabic on topics including social change, culture and identity, political humor, modern Palestinian history, and Palestinian folklore. Kanaana is currently involved in producing an encyclopedia of Palestinian folktales in five volumes.Ibtisam Barakat is an internationally renowned Palestinian American poet, artist, and educator. She is the author of six books in both English and Arabic including Tasting the Sky: A Palestinian Childhood and Balcony on the Moon: Coming of Age in Palestine.

• New Foreword by Ibtisam Barakat Foreword from 1989 by Alan DundesAcknowledgments Note on Transliteration Key to ReferencesIntroductionThe TalesNotes on Presentation and TranslationGroup I • IndividualsChildren and Parents1. Tunjur, Tunjur2. The Woman Who Married Her Son3. Precious One and Worn-out One4. Šwēš, Šwēš!5. The Golden PailAfterwordSiblings6. Half-a-Halfling7. The Orphans' Cow8. Sumac! You Son of a Whore, Sumac!9. The Green Bird10. Little Nightingale the CrierAfterwordSexual Awakening and Courtship11. The Little Bird 12. Jummēz Bin Yāzūr, Chief of the Birds13. Jbēne14. Sackcloth 15. ŠāhīnAfterwordThe Quest for the Spouse16. The Brave Lad17. Gazelle18. LōlabeAfterwordGroup II • FamilyBrides and Bridegrooms19. The Old Woman Ghouleh20. Lady Tatar21. Šōqak Bōqak!22. Clever Hasan23. The CricketAfterwordHusbands and Wives24. The Seven Leavenings25. The Golden Rod in the Valley of Vermilion26. Minjal27. Im ʿĒše AfterwordFamily Life28. Chick Eggs 29. The Ghouleh of Trans-Jordan30. Bear-Cub of the Kitchen31. The Woman Whose Hands Were Cut Off 32. Nʿayyis (Little Sleepy One)AfterwordGroup III • Society33. Im ʿAwwād and the Ghouleh34. The Merchant's Daughter35. Pomegranate Seeds36. The Woodcutter 37. The FishermanAfterwordGroup IV • Environment38. The Little She-Goat39. The Old Woman and Her Cat40. Dunglet41. The LouseAfterwordGroup V • Universe42. The Woman Who Fell into the Well43. The Rich Man and the Poor Man44. Maʿrūf the Shoemaker45. Im ʿAlī and Abū ʿAlīAfterwordFolkloristic AnalysisAppendix A: Transliteration of Tale 10 Appendix B: Index of Folk MotifsAppendix C: List of Tales by TypeSelected BibliographyFootnote Index