Hanna Abu-Hanna

Hanna Abu-Hanna (16 October 1928 – 2 February 2022) was a Palestinian writer, poet, and researcher. He was born in Reineh, Mandatory Palestine on October 16, 1928.^[1] He belongs to the first generation of Arab resistance poets in Israel. Hanna worked as Director of the Arab Orthodox College in Haifa until 1987. He was also a lecturer at the University of Haifa and at the Teacher Education College in 1973. Abu-Hanna earned a Master's degree in literature. He edited and prepared student programs in Jerusalem and Near East radio stations. He participated in the publication of the Al-Jadeed magazine in 1951, the Al-Ghad magazine in 1953, Al-Mawakib in 1984, and Al-Mawqaf in 1993.^[2]

Abu-Hanna was born in 1928 in Reineh, a town 3 km north of Nazareth. Because of his father's work, he moved between Jerusalem, Ramallah, Jaffa, Ashdod, Najd, Haifa, Nazareth, and then back to Reineh.^[3] He first attended school in Ashdod, after which he attended the Al Maaref School for Boys in Haifa.^[4] He then moved to Nazareth, where he participated in the 1936 Arab revolt. He later attended the Latin School in Reineh for a while, before completing secondary studies at the Ma'arif School in Nazareth.^[5]

After high school, Abu-Hanna studied at the Arab College in Jerusalem, which enrolled outstanding students from Palestinian government schools. He was chosen to pursue studies in Britain. A government mission was assigned to him in 1947, but family circumstances and the Nakba eliminated this opportunity. He held a BA in English Literature from the University of Haifa.

After the Nakba, Abu-Hanna returned to Haifa in 1950, where he worked for the editorial board of the Al-Ittihad with Tawfik Toubi, Emile Habibi, Emile Touma, Saliba Khamis, Muhammad Khas, Ali Ashour, and Jabra Nicola.^[6] He helped to establish the Al-Ghad and Al-Jadeed magazines, which were issued in 1951 as a supplement to Al-Ittihad and then resumed publishing in 1953 after obtaining a license.^[7] Israeli authorities imprisoned him in Ramle Prison in 1958.^[8]

Abu-Hanna married Samia Farah, who was from Shefa-Amr. The couple had two daughters, Rabab Abu-Hanna and journalist Umayya Abu-Hanna, and a son, professor Amin Abu-Hanna.^[9][10][11] He died on 2 February 2022, at the age of 93.^[12]

• The Call of the Surgeon (Amman Library, 1969).
• Poems from the Garden of Patience (Akko, 1988).
• I swallowed your poison until reaching immunity (Haifa, 1990).^[13]

• The World of the Short Story (Carmel Press, Haifa, 1979)
• My Soul on My Comfort: The Divan of Abd al-Rahim Mahmoud (Center for the Revival of Arab Heritage, Taybeh, 1985 AD)
• The Russian Teachers' House (in Nazareth, 1994)
• A journey in search of heritage (Haifa, 1994)
• Epic Literature
• Palestinian Poetry divan