'ITRODUCTION BY LQBAL AHMAL The Pen and the Swore CONVERSATIONS WITh in DAVID BARSAMIAN 1 Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2019 with funding from Kahle/Austin Foundation https://archive.org/details/penswordconversaOOOOsaid The Pen and // the Sword Edward W. Said Conversations with David Barsamian Common Courage Press Monroe, Maine copyright © Edward W. Said and David Barsamian 1994 All rights reserved. Transcripts by Sandy Adler Cover photo by Neal Cassidy Cover design by Matt Wuerker Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data: Said, Edward W The pen & the Sword : conversations with David Barsamian / Edward W. Said, p. cm. ISBN 1-56751-031-0. - ISBN 1-56751-030-2 (pbk.) 1. Said, Edward W. 2. Critics—Interviews. 3. Literature. Modem- History and criticism-Theory. etc. 4. Imperialism in literature. 5. Colonies in literature. 6. Politics and culture. I. Barsamian, David. II. Title. III. Title: Pen and the Sword. PN75.S25S25 1994 809—dc20 94-15582 CIP Common Courage Press P.O. Box 702 Monroe, ME 04951 207-525-0900 fax: 207-525-3068 First Printing Contents Acknowledgments 5 Introduction Eqbal Ahmad 7 The Politics and Culture of Palestinian Exile 23 Orientalism Revisited 39 The Pen and the Sword: Culture and Imperialism 63 The Israel/PLO Accord: A Critical Assessment 107 Palestine: Betrayal of History 145 Index 171 Acknowledgments In 1979 I was producing “Ganges to the Nile,” a weekly program on Eastern music on KGNU, Boulder. Edward Said’s Orientalism inspired me to contextualize the program within a political, cultur¬ al and historical framework. Even though I have moved on from “Ganges,” Edward Said continues to inform my work. It wasn’t until 1987 that I met him at a talk he had given at a school on New York’s Eastside. A few days later we did our first interview. I remember his asking expectantly, “Do you have some good questions?” Since then both the ques¬ tions and answers have continued. Some of the interviews in this collection were broadcast nation¬ ally and internationally on Alternative Radio. They were all recorded in person in New York except the last one which was done by phone. Thanks to H. Aram Veeser and Zaineb Istrabadi for their encouragement, advice and suggestions, and to Sandy Adler for transcribing the tapes. I am very appreciated of Eqbal Ahmad for writ¬ ing the introduction. I feel a kinship with Edward Said rooted per¬ haps in my own background in which the themes of exile and dispossession were so prominent. My grat¬ itude to him is fused with much affection and respect. —David Barsamian, Boulder, Colorado June 1994 5