Once a student of Edward’s, Timothy Brennan became a close friend who was an important part of the conversations, books, and ideas that animated our home and Edward’s work. His understanding of Edward’s intellectual journey, as well as his contradictions and compassion, is both deeply personal and profound. In Places of Mind, Timothy captured not only the arc of Edward’s public life but also the teacher, musician, and lover of language behind it all. I am grateful that he continues to carry forward Edward’s legacy through his own thoughtful writing and teaching, and that we can gather today to remember his legacy together.

—Mariam C. Said

Edward W. Said was a man of many talents and contradictions. He was Palestinian and cosmopolitan, a literary scholar and champion of freedom for his people, a music lover and a committed intellectual fighter for a just peace in the Middle East. Above all, however, Edward was my friend. He changed my life, and his disappearance created a void for me, one that really has been impossible to fill. We found in each other a counterpart to take ourselves further and to help see the supposed other more clearly and to understand them better. We recognized each other in our common humanity. For me, our joint work with the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra—which finds its logical continuation and perhaps its culmination in the Barenboim- Said Akademie—probably remains the most important activity of my life.

—Daniel Barenboim