Edward W. Said

Music Critic

We mourn the loss of Edward Said, who passed away on the morning of Thursday, September 25, 2003.

Edward W. Said, the late University Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University, was for many years the magazine's classical music critic as well as a contributing writer. Known both for his groundbreaking research in the field of comparative literature and his incisive political commentary, Said was one of the most prominent intellectuals in the United States. His writing regularly appeared in the Guardian of London, Le Monde Diplomatique and the Arab-language daily al-Hayat, printed in every Arab capital in the world.

In 1948, Said and his family were dispossessed from Palestine and settled in Cairo. He came to the United States to attend college and lived in New York for many years. Because of his advocacy for Palestinian self-determination and his membership in the Palestine National Council, Said was not allowed to visit Palestine until several years ago.

Educated at Princeton and Harvard, Said lectured at more than 150 universities and colleges in the United States, Canada and Europe. His writing, translated into fourteen languages, includes ten books, among them Orientalism (Pantheon, 1978), a runner-up in criticism for the National Book Critics Circle Award; The World, the Text and the Critic (Harvard, 1983); Blaming the Victims (Verso, 1988); Culture and Imperialism (Knopf, 1993); Peace and Its Discontents: Essays on Palestine in the Middle East Peace Process (Vintage, 1995); End of the Peace Process: Oslo and After (Pantheon, 2000); and, most recently, Power, Politics, and Culture (Pantheon).

There Cannot Be Peace and Security Until the Cause of Palestinian Suffering Is Addressed

There Cannot Be Peace and Security Until the Cause of Palestinian Suffering Is Addressed There Cannot Be Peace and Security Until the Cause of Palestinian Suffering Is Addressed

There is a racist premise underpinning the “peace process” that Arab lives aren’t worth as much as Jewish lives.

Mar 23, 2015 / Books & the Arts / Edward W. Said

The Essential Terrorist The Essential Terrorist

With the "war on terror" now official nomenclature, the problematic conflating of ethnic, religious and "terrorist" identities is now a matter of policy as well as media distortion...

Aug 15, 2006 / Books & the Arts / Edward W. Said

A Configuration of Themes A Configuration of Themes

This essay--Edward W. Said's first piece for The Nation from the magazine's May 30, 1966, issue--is a special selection from The Nation Digital Archive. If you want to read everyth...

Oct 30, 2003 / Books & the Arts / Edward W. Said

Untimely Meditations Untimely Meditations

Beethoven has been particularly fortunate in his recent critics and biographers.

Aug 14, 2003 / Books & the Arts / Edward W. Said

What Israel Has Done What Israel Has Done

Seeking to eliminate the Palestinians as a people, it is destroying their civil life.

Apr 18, 2002 / Feature / Edward W. Said

A New Current in Palestine A New Current in Palestine

It's too soon to call it a party, but there's now a popular, independent group.

Jan 17, 2002 / Feature / Edward W. Said

The Clash of Ignorance The Clash of Ignorance

Labels like "Islam" and "the West" serve only to confuse us about a disorderly reality.

Oct 4, 2001 / Feature / Edward W. Said

The End of Oslo The End of Oslo

Misreported and flawed from the start, the Oslo peace process has entered its terminal phase of violent confrontation, disproportionately massive Israeli repression, widespread P...

Oct 12, 2000 / Edward W. Said

A Devil Theory of Islam A Devil Theory of Islam

Judith Miller is a New York Times reporter much in evidence on talk shows and seminars on the Middle East.

Jul 25, 2000 / Books & the Arts / Edward W. Said

Islam Through Western Eyes Islam Through Western Eyes

This essay, by the late Edward Said, from the April 26, 1980, issue of The Nation, is a special selection from The Nation Digital Archive. If you want to read everything The Nation...

Jan 2, 1998 / Feature / Edward W. Said

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