Mahmoud Darwish, the great Palestinian poet died on Saturday at the age of 67.  To mark his passing and continue the conversation to which he  gave so richly, GRITtv convened poets Nathalie Handal, Naomi Shihab Nye, and Kathy Engel, co-editor of We Begin Here: Poems for Palestine and Lebanon. Also with us, Mahdis Keshavarz, founder of the Make Agency,

Described as the “essential breath of the Palestinian people, the eloquent witness of exile and belonging,” Darwish published more than twenty books of poetry and was an outspoken critic of the Israeli occupation. He didn't "create" Palestinian identity as some have suggested, but like Pablo Neruda, Darwish certainly confirmed the place of poetry in politics. Darwish summoned us to participate in a dialectic, and to talk about all the tough stuff -- from the right to return, the importance of home, the anguish of dispossession, the crime of exile. Listen here as we pay tribute to Darwish and read from his work.

And a little web-only bonus. John Berger (English art critic, painter, and writer, winner of the Booker Prize) reads from 'Mural' by Darwish. Many thanks to the U.K.'s Resist Network for this clip.