Ibrahim Nasrallah nasce ad Amman nel 1954 e cresce nel campo profughi di al-Wa’dat, in Giordania, dove si erano rifugiati i suoi genitori, originari di un piccolo villaggio vicino Gerusalemme. Dopo gli studi alle scuole dell’UNRWA e poi in Arabia Saudita, lavora come insegnante e come giornalista. ed è molto impegnato anche come organizzatore culturale. Oltre che come importante poeta, autore di numerose raccolte, che hanno ottenuto importanti riconoscimenti, è romanziere di successo (un suo libro ha vinto il prestigioso premio Nagib Mahfuz), nonché autore di saggi critici e di libri per l’infanzia. È tradotto in numerose lingue. In italiano disponiamo dei romanzi Febbre (trad. di L. Capezzone, Edizioni Lavoro, Roma 2001) e Dentro la notte. Diario Palestinese (trad. di W. Dahmash, Ilisso, Nuoro 2004), mentre sue liriche sono presenti nell’antologia Una terra senza cielo(Giunti 2007), promossa dal Laboratorio Nuova Buonarrotidi Firenze.
Ibrahim Nasrallah was born in 1954 to Palestinian parents who were uprooted from their homeland in 1948. As a child and later a young man, he lived in the Wehdat Refugee Camp near the Jordanian capital Amman. Like many other refugee children he was compelled to go to work at an early age to provide for his family; he worked in a tobacco factory, at the quarries, as a porter and office boy. He also worked as a peddler during school holidays. Nonetheless, he managed to pursue his education and got a Teaching Diploma. After graduation, he took a job as a teacher in the Saudi desert in extreme dismal conditions. In "Prairies of Fever," Nasrallah's first novel, the author gave vent to this bitter experience that lasted for two years. After returning to Amman, he worked as a journalist for 18 years; at the same time he continued his creative writings in poetry and fiction and became one of the most prominent Palestinian writers. Later he worked as the cultural director for one of the renowned artistic and cultural institutions in Jordan for ten years. In 2006, Ibrahim Nasrallah decided to dedicate himself fully to his writing profession. Since the publication of his first book in 1978, and because of his writings, Ibrahim Nasrallah was subject to many forms of harassment. In the 1980s and for six years the Jordanian authorities denied him his right of travel. His novel Birds of Caution and one of his poetry collections were banned for several years. In 2006, he was threaten to be prosecuted and imprisoned in the account of a poem he had published 20 years ago and in which the authority found ground for allegation of "threatening the national security"! Threats and persecutions were not limited to the official authorities; some extremist groups have announced Nasrallah as a renegade and atheist because of his poetry collection entitled In the Name of the Mother and the Son that was published in 1999. However, Nasrallah managed to overcome and survive all misfortune owing to a widespread Arab and international solidarity campaigns on his behalf. Nasrallah's extensive experience was reflected throughout his writings, in novels and poetry. He began his literary career writing poetry; and has published 13 collections of poetry and 11 novels. He has won several prizes for his work, and many of his works were translated into European languages.