• Born to a Palestinian father and a Lebanese mother, and brought up in a household influenced by culture and nationalism.
  • Educated in Jerusalem, where she received her secondary school education at Schmidt, the German secondary school in Jerusalem, her father sent her to the American University of Beirut, where she graduated specializing in languages.
  • Her talent for writing poetry emerged at a young age, however her father advised her to not write poetry until she was in full command of the Arabic language, and understood the nuances of poetry.
  • She published her first works in Al Adab Literary magazine of Beirut in 1960, she went on to publish her first book of poetry in 1960 “Returning to the spring of the dreamer”.
  • After graduating from London in 1970, specializing in Arab literature, she started teaching in many Arab and foreign universities: Khartoum, Algiers, Constantine, Utah in the USA, then at the University of Michigan, Washington, Texas.
  • During her stay in America, and after teaching in universities, she discovered the weak impact Arab culture has on Western societies, so she contemplated establishing a large-scale project which aims to introduce Arab culture to the West. In 1980 she established the “Broca” translation project, to bring the Arab culture to the USA and the West.
  • She worked in the field of translation, and completed many translations of Arabic short stories and poetry.
  • With support from the Columbia University in New York, she embarked on completing and publishing of an Arabic poetry encyclopedia. She went on to execute other vital projects including the encyclopedia of Palestinian literature, the group for modern Arab theater, as well as a book covering the Arab civilization in Andalusia.
  • She received several fellowships for completing specific projects such as the Fellowship of the University of Michigan, as well as fellowships Fulbright fellowship in Syria, Jordan and Palestine.
  • She executed several important projects in the Arab cultural arena, such as a comprehensive study of Andalusian poetry, a book covering human rights in Arab texts, and compiled and documented Arabic translation of short plays, as well as her involvement in other projects concerning Jerusalem, Arabs in Spain, and the Middle Ages through the eyes of Muslims.
  • She participated in numerous literary and cultural conferences and forums throughout the Arab world, and internationally.
  • To date, she has published over 22 books, most of which are considered important and major sources covering Arab culture, creating a bridge between Arab and Western cultures, including:
  1. Comprehensive publication in English covering “Modern Arabic Poetry” in two volumes.
  2. Comprehensive study covering “Umayyad Verse” in the first volume of the Cambridge Encyclopedia of Arab literature.
  3. Series of books “Literature of the Arabian Peninsula”, which was translated by more than sixty poets from the island and forty writers.
  4. Literature of the Arabian Peninsula Encyclopedia, published by the University Texas.
  5. Authored the book “The Legacy of Muslim Spain.
  6. ” 6) “Democracy and Human Rights in the Arab World” by Mohammad Abed Al-Gabri.
  • She translated into English a number of novels including:
  1. “The Cactus” by Sahar Khalifa
  2. “War in the Land of Egypt” by Youssef al-Qaeed
  3. ” Prairies of Fever” by Ibrahim Nasrallah
  4. ” Fragments of Memory ” by Hanna Mina
  5. “The Hostage” by Zaid Mutee’ Dammaj
  6. “A Woman of five Seasons” by Layla al-Atrash
  7. “stone drain” by Ibrahim Al Kouni
  8. “A Balcony On The Fakihani” by Liana Badr · 

In the field of poetry, she translated into English a number of poetry collections authored by poets such as: Abu Kassim Shabi, Fadwa Tuqan, Muhammad Al Maghout, Nizar Qabbani, and others.

She also translated many of biographies of Arab literalists

Tel. : 0016174911601 ·         Email : jayyusi8@gmail.com