Abstract

Reflecting on the works of the prominent Palestinian author Jabra Ibrahim Jabra, reading his two biographies: Al-Bi›r Al-Oula (The First Well) (1987), and Shari› Al-Ameerat (The Princesses› Street) (1994), and following his press dialogues and thoughts in the oeuvre of his critical work, one does not fail to observe a pressing presence of the writer›s self and a deep and clear interaction between the product of an early or later personal experience and the product of imagination and creative impulses. The present study aims to explore the features characterizing the interaction between the personal and the literary in Jabra›s writings through emphasizing three aspects: First, Jabra›s critical opinions. Second, introducing examples from his works that manifest the above interaction. Third, exploring the deep objective and artistic purposes of this interaction to prove that the mergence between self-constituents and creativity-constituents can never be arbitrary or spontaneous. Rather, it is conscious and intentional and can be attained only by distinguished and creative authors like Jabra.