The First Well: A Bethlehem BoyhoodThe First Well is an engaging autobiographical account of Jabra's boyhood in Bethlehem, where he was born in 1920, and later in Jerusalem, where he moved as a teenager with his parents.Through the eyes and heart of a sensitive, highly imaginative boy, Jabra describes the first sources of his artistic sensibility--the houses, fields, and orchards of his childhood and the Christian, Muslim, and Jewish cultures of Bethlehem and Jerusalem. The First Well is the story of his intellectual and spiritual growth nurtured and encouraged by his family, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and his teachers. His story is both captivatingly innocent and full of wisdom. Wordsworth's observation, "The Child is father of the Man," is entirely apt as Jabra's literary and artistic interests take root and blossom. Here is a chronicle of the experiences and events he drew upon as he became one of the leading authors of the Arab world. |
Contents
Section 1 | 3 |
Section 2 | 23 |
Section 3 | 77 |
Section 4 | 87 |
Section 5 | 99 |
Section 6 | 147 |
Section 7 | 153 |
Section 8 | 169 |
Section 9 | 182 |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
Arabic Arabic language asked back home Baghdad beautiful began Beirut Bethlehem Bishara boys brother Yusuf calligraphy carried cauterization chickens church climbed colors continued copybook courtyard divine liturgy donkey door eggs English entered eyes floor friends front Fulla gate gave grandmother halva hand head hermit Ibrahim imagined Issa Jabra Jabra Ibrahim Jabra Jaffa Gate Jerusalem kerosene lamp Khalil al-Sakakini later laughed looked Lord Malik Manger monastery morning mother moved Nablus Naoom never night olive Palestine pencil piasters play playground pomegranate principal returned home road rock sang saying shoes shouted singing Square stone stood story strange Suddenly Sulayman Syriac Teacher Jabboor Teacher Jiryis tell terraced plot tire took turned University of Arkansas voice waited walked words write young