Smuggled Palestinian prison literature gains outside audience
Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons go to great lengths to pass on their artistic work to the outside, with some prisoners' work gaining widespread attention.
GAZA STRIP — During the 22 years he spent in Beersheba prison, writer Shaaban Hassouna managed to draft five novels, which he sneaked out in capsules for his family to print. One of his novels, “Shade of a Black Cloud,” received critical and local acclaim.
Capsules are often used to conceal and transport a prisoner's writings to the outside. The prisoner will write on transparent, thin paper and then fold it and conceal it within a drug-like capsule, which he will then secretly pass to a family member during a visit. The family member then swallows the capsule, and the writings are later recovered from excreted feces.
Each novel has its own adventure sneaking out of prison. Hassouna said that he has also passed along his notebooks in food boxes. Hassouna, who was released from prison in 2011, told Al-Monitor that he started writing at an early age, though he only excelled at it when he was imprisoned at age 20.
“In confinement, several literary activities take place, and I attended them persistently. I love Arabic language and literature, and I started to draft press statements [for people inside the prison],” he said.
