Earlier this month the UK publication Jewish Quarterly awarded Adina
Hoffman with the Wingate Prize 2010 for her new book, My Happiness Bears No Relation to Happiness. Given
out annually to
an author whose work “stimulates an interest in themes of Jewish concern
while
appealing to the general reader,” this year’s Wingate
Prize marks an historic
event for Jewish-Palestinian relations. My
Happiness, the first biography of a Palestinian writer written in
English,
tracks the life of Palestinian poet Taha Mohammed Ali. Anne Karpf, the
chair of
the Wingate Prize’s judging panel, described
Hoffman’s work as “eloquent and
moving…ultimately an uplifting book, combining meticulous research with
literary sensitivity and a deep humanity: a beautifully written portrait
of
lived resistance.”