Artikel
Welcome to Israeli poetry - May 2003
_w336.jpg)
18 januari 2006
Hebrew poetry has come a long way since then, built block by
block, the two verses above joined by the poetry of Moses; and of Deborah; David's lament for Jonathan; and the psalms, hymns and chapters of the Prophets, sounding a call for social justice. After biblical poetry came the writings of the Rabbinical Sages; the poetry of the Middle Ages; of the Enlightenment; the beginning of modern Hebrew poetry; and the work of contemporary Israeli writers.
The four poets featured in these pages are bound by golden threads, some visible and some hidden to the eye.
{id="3174" title="Nathan Alterman"} (1910-1970) led Hebrew poetry in a new, modernist direction, which it followed for at least a generation, and whose influence remains strong. Alterman’s poetry has two main components: on the one hand it is highly lyrical, and, on the other, it treats social and political matters. Alterman broke with convention about the content of poetry, but remained faithful to European poetic forms favored at the beginning of the twentieth century: meter and rhyme. Three poems, translated by Lewis Glinert, may be found in this issue, along with Moshe Dayan’s comments on Alterman’s poetry and personality.
{id="3173" title="Natan Zach"} (b. 1930) rebelled against Alterman’s work in terms of both content and form, rejecting what he considered to be the remnants of an old-fashioned tradition. He demanded ethical gravity, empathetic involvement – disengaged from any particular ideology – and emotion rather than sentiment. His strict modernism is often accompanied by an ironic view of reality. Zach has not shrunk from offering a sharp retort to extreme nationalism, and to nationalistic literature, in equal measure; his poems cast light on material reality (Samson’s hair, a street, a rocking horse), and on profound human emotion (love, loss, loneliness). Along with three poems translated by Peter Cole, the site features a discussion of 'Recalled and Forgotten' by the editor.
Nearly two generations separate Zach’s poetry from that of {id="3168" title="Gali-Dana Singer"} and {id="3175" title="Nathan Wasserman"}. These two young and talented writers (both b.1962), have entered Israeli literature relatively recently, enriching it with their multi-layered worlds and inimitable uses of language. In Singer’s poetry, the pain of having two homelands, Russia and Israel, becomes a rich source of creativity. Translations of two of her poems are accompanied by selections from an interview conducted by the Israeli site editors with Dana and her husband, the artist Nekoda Singer. In connection to the interaction between Russian and Hebrew poetry, excerpts from a review by the Israeli poet Chaim Gouri, of the new translations of Aminadav Dykman in My Generation, My Beast, just released by Schocken Books, are available on the site. Wasserman’s first book, which appeared last year, unfolds a magical array of inner and outer worlds: familial, geographical, historical, mythical—reinvented by the poet. Excerpts from a review of his book by Israeli writer Ruth Almog accompany two poems translated by Lisa Katz. The Israeli national site is produced by {id="3098" title="Mishkenot Sha'ananim"} International Cultural Centre in Jerusalem.
{id="3083" title="Gabi Hadar"}, National Site Producer
{id="3083" title="Rami Saari"}, National Editor
{id="3083" title="Lisa Katz"}, English Language Editor
These web pages focus mainly on poetry by living Israeli writers, while earlier poets whose influence is still felt in modern Hebrew literature are also represented. The first edition featured two poets who represent two different stages in the development of Hebrew poetry: Solomon Ibn Gabirol and Dahlia Ravikovitch. The second edition is dedicated to four poets: Nathan Alterman, Natan Zach, Nathan Wasserman and Gali-Dana Singer.
The beginning of Hebrew poetry is recorded in the Bible, whose very first book refers to the primordial Garden of Eden. This is the place where humankind was born: the cradle of human culture. The first verses treated as poetry by the Biblical writer are these:
Adah and Zillah, hear my voice;
You wives of Lamech, hearken to what I say:
I have slain a man for wounding me, a young man for striking me.
If Cain is avenged sevenfold,
truly Lamech seventy-sevenfold.
(Genesis 4:23-24)
Hebrew poetry has come a long way since then, built block by
block, the two verses above joined by the poetry of Moses; and of Deborah; David's lament for Jonathan; and the psalms, hymns and chapters of the Prophets, sounding a call for social justice. After biblical poetry came the writings of the Rabbinical Sages; the poetry of the Middle Ages; of the Enlightenment; the beginning of modern Hebrew poetry; and the work of contemporary Israeli writers.
The four poets featured in these pages are bound by golden threads, some visible and some hidden to the eye.
{id="3174" title="Nathan Alterman"} (1910-1970) led Hebrew poetry in a new, modernist direction, which it followed for at least a generation, and whose influence remains strong. Alterman’s poetry has two main components: on the one hand it is highly lyrical, and, on the other, it treats social and political matters. Alterman broke with convention about the content of poetry, but remained faithful to European poetic forms favored at the beginning of the twentieth century: meter and rhyme. Three poems, translated by Lewis Glinert, may be found in this issue, along with Moshe Dayan’s comments on Alterman’s poetry and personality.
{id="3173" title="Natan Zach"} (b. 1930) rebelled against Alterman’s work in terms of both content and form, rejecting what he considered to be the remnants of an old-fashioned tradition. He demanded ethical gravity, empathetic involvement – disengaged from any particular ideology – and emotion rather than sentiment. His strict modernism is often accompanied by an ironic view of reality. Zach has not shrunk from offering a sharp retort to extreme nationalism, and to nationalistic literature, in equal measure; his poems cast light on material reality (Samson’s hair, a street, a rocking horse), and on profound human emotion (love, loss, loneliness). Along with three poems translated by Peter Cole, the site features a discussion of 'Recalled and Forgotten' by the editor.
Nearly two generations separate Zach’s poetry from that of {id="3168" title="Gali-Dana Singer"} and {id="3175" title="Nathan Wasserman"}. These two young and talented writers (both b.1962), have entered Israeli literature relatively recently, enriching it with their multi-layered worlds and inimitable uses of language. In Singer’s poetry, the pain of having two homelands, Russia and Israel, becomes a rich source of creativity. Translations of two of her poems are accompanied by selections from an interview conducted by the Israeli site editors with Dana and her husband, the artist Nekoda Singer. In connection to the interaction between Russian and Hebrew poetry, excerpts from a review by the Israeli poet Chaim Gouri, of the new translations of Aminadav Dykman in My Generation, My Beast, just released by Schocken Books, are available on the site. Wasserman’s first book, which appeared last year, unfolds a magical array of inner and outer worlds: familial, geographical, historical, mythical—reinvented by the poet. Excerpts from a review of his book by Israeli writer Ruth Almog accompany two poems translated by Lisa Katz. The Israeli national site is produced by {id="3098" title="Mishkenot Sha'ananim"} International Cultural Centre in Jerusalem.
{id="3083" title="Gabi Hadar"}, National Site Producer
{id="3083" title="Rami Saari"}, National Editor
{id="3083" title="Lisa Katz"}, English Language Editor
© Rami Saari
Sponsors
Partners
LantarenVenster – Verhalenhuis Belvédère