Abu Salma

Abd al-Karim al-Karmi (عبد الكريم الكرمي), (1909–11 October 1980), known as Abu Salma (أبو سلمى), was a famous Palestinian poet and one of the Arab poets, was born in Tulkarm, and was a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization. He was the recipient of several awards and the chairman of the General Union of Palestinian Writers and Journalists until his death.

Biography
Abu Salma was born in 1909 in Tulkarm. He studied law and worked in Haifa in Mandatory Palestine until April 1948. He then moved briefly to Acre and then to Damascus. He also worked briefly for Palestine Broadcasting Service (PBS). Abd al-Karim al-Karmi is the brother of Hasan Karmi, Mahmoud Al-Karmi and Abdul-Ghani Al-Karmi.

Works
Poetry
 * The Exile, 1953.
 * Songs of My Country, 1959.
 * Children's Songs, 1964.
 * My Brush Is from Palestine, 1971.
 * Collected Works, 1978.

Prose
 * The Struggle of the Arabs of Palestine, 1964.
 * The Works of Ahmad Shakir al-Karmi: Literary, Critical and Fictional, 1964.
 * Shaykh Sa‘id al-Karmi, 1973.

Death
He died of sepsis on 11 October 1980 in George Washington University Hospital in Washington, D.C.

Awards and honors

 * 1978: Lotus International Reward for Literature, by The Association of Asian and African Writers, it was given by the president of Angola Agostinho Neto for him.
 * 1980: Order of Palestinian revolution, by the president of the Palestine Liberation Organization Yasser Arafat.
 * 1990: Order of Jerusalem for Culture, Arts and Literature, by the president of the Palestine Liberation Organization Yasser Arafat.
 * 2015: Order of Palestine for Culture, Science and Arts, by the president of the State of Palestine Mahmoud Abbas.