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Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, Room 8 & 9
About
During World War II, the Hebrew poet Leah Goldberg was called upon to write testimonial poetry addressing the war. In response, she composed fundamentally different poems, asserting that the poet’s role is not necessarily to document, but rather to remind humanity - even in its darkest hours - that it remains human.
In the decades that followed, other prominent Hebrew poets such as Yehuda Amichai, Dalia Rabikovitch, Avot Yeshurun, and Nathan Zach, each in their own way, did not always respond to the call for direct documentation of the era’s horrors. Instead, they sought to convey the experience of war through bold and subversive perspectives, articulated in both formal and thematic innovations within the genre of political poetry.
Thus, modern Hebrew poetry, consistently created against a backdrop of conflict, war, and loss, goes beyond expressing moral outrage or longing for lost beauty. Rather, it engages with these challenging realities through the genre of artistic poetry as a form of resistance, reviving traditional forms and fostering critical thought through poetic innovation.
This lecture will trace pivotal turning points in the evolution of modern Hebrew poetry, highlighting key political moments that have emerged from it - powerful instances that have expanded, and continue to expand, its creative boundaries.
Sarai Shavit is a poet, writer, and literary editor. She is a co-editor of the Hebrew journal "Moznayim." She has published two works of prose and three poetry collections. Her poetry has been translated into German, French, Malayalam, portuguese and Italian. She is a recipient of the "Poetry on the Road" award, the Rabinovich Foundation Award, and the "Common Ground" award for fiction. She is the recipient of the Eddi-WIZO Adelina Della Pergola Award for translated literature for 2023. Shavit teaches literature and creative writing at Tel Aviv University and a research fellow at this university.