Mahmoud Darwish was one of the most acclaimed contemporary poets in the Arab world and is often cited as the poetic voice of the Palestinian people. During the tumultuous summer of 2006, as Israel attacked Gaza and Lebanon, Darwish was in Ramallah and recorded his observations and feelings in this diary.

Mahmoud Darwish was born in 1941 in the village of al-Birweh in Galilee, Palestine. He published around thirty poetry and prose collections, which have been translated into thirty-five languages. He died in August 2008.