On the Hills of Masyoun, overlooking Jerusalem, lies Mahmoud Darwish’s grave. Almost four years after his death, occupied Ramallah commemorated Darwish’s birthday again by opening al-Birwa Garden next to the Ramallah Cultural Palace. The opening coincided with the Palestinian National Cultural Day and the ceremony announcing the winners of the annual Mahmoud Darwish Award for Freedom and Creativity. This is the third time the award has been given. The first year, it went to Egyptian novelist Ahdaf Soueif and South African poet Breyten Breytenbach. The second year, it was awarded to Spanish writer Juan Goytisolo and Palestinian writer Mahmoud Shukair. The head of the award committee is critic Faisal Darraj and its members include Mohammed Lotfi Al-Yousefi (Tunisia), Khaled al-Karaki (Jordan), Subhi al-Hadidi (Syria), Jamal Shohayed (Syria), Shirine Abu al-Naja (Egypt), Ahmad Harb (Palestine), Suleiman Jubran (Palestine), Ibrahim Musa (Palestine) and Ibrahim Abu Hashash (Palestine). The award was supposed to be given to an Arab writer...