Edward W. Said London Lecture 2026: Fady Joudah: Notes on Solidarity

Drawing on his work across poetry, translation, and political thought, Joudah will examine the need for solidarity with Palestine in the English-speaking world to move beyond its current limits as capitalist morality and symbolic gesture. Instead, he calls for a deeper reckoning with Palestinian sovereignty as it is understood through the Arabic language and lived Palestinian experience. Joudah is the author of several acclaimed poetry collections, as well as the forthcoming Exhibit G, a hybrid work of poems, essays, and photographs through Palestinian eyes, that renders both the catastrophic loss, and the enduring force of beauty, love and Palestinian interiority and life. Joudah was a National Book Award for Poetry finalist (2024) for his sixth collection of poems entitled […]. The evening will be hosted by Dr. Aimee Shalan at the Royal Geographical Society, 1 Kensington Gore, South Kensington, London SW7 2AR. About the Edward W. Said London Lecture Series: Literary critic, writer, activist, and spokesperson for the Palestinian cause, Edward Said (1935-2003) was one of the most influential intellectuals of his time. Supported by the A. M. Qattan Foundation and London Review of Books, the lecture series aims to promote his spirit through the continued examination of the links between culture and politics in the Middle East and across the world. With previous lectures by Raji Sourani, Abuldrazak Gurnah, Susan M. Akram, Hassan Jabareen, Wadie Said, Philippe Sands, Amira Hass, Mahmood Mamdani, Naomi Klein, Marina Warner, Rashid Khalidi, Ahdaf Soueif, Raja Shehadeh, Noam Chomsky and Daniel Barenboim, the series gives his legacy a public platform in the very heart of cultural and intellectual life in the UK. Find out more about the series and previous speakers here.