Dr Farah Aboubakr, University of Edinburgh presents "Speak Bird, Speak Memory: The Politics of Storytelling in Palestine"

The folktale is not just a narrative of entertainment; it can also act as a hybrid site for cultural resistance, cultural and collective memory reaffirmation, and continuity in the Palestinian discourse of orality. To understand the impact of folktales within the discourse of memory and cultural identity development, I analyse a selection of folktales edited, compiled and translated by Ibrahim Muhawi and Sharif Kanaana in Speak, Bird, Speak Again (1989) and its Arabic version Qul Ya Tayerقول يا طير. Synthesising various concepts within memory studies, the paper examines the scholarly contribution of the compilers, paying a close look at the politics of storytelling in the Palestinian case. Playing an essential role in transmitting and preserving Palestinian memory and cultural identity, the paper probes Palestinian women’s agency both as storytellers and protagonists in the folktales. Moreover, the folktale I argue encapsulates interwoven narratives of regeneration within peasantry discourse and pre-1948 setting where the language of folk religion or references to food, for instance become key in the manifestation of Palestinian cultural identity. In short, this paper sheds new light on the role of the Palestinian folklorist, folktales and storytellers, adopting a novel approach that combines memory, trauma, and identity studies among others.