israel in translation

On Writing the Fantastic: Part 2

Shimon Adaf and Lavie Tidhar’s new book, “Art & War: Poetry, Pulp and Politics in Israeli Fiction”, is a dialogue about their approach to writing the fantastic, writing about Israel and Palestine, about Judaism, about the Holocaust, about childhoods and their end.

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On Writing the Fantastic: Part 1

Shimon Adaf and Lavie Tidhar’s new book, “Art & War: Poetry, Pulp and Politics in Israeli Fiction”, is a dialogue about their approach to writing the fantastic, writing about Israel and Palestine, about Judaism, about the Holocaust, about childhoods and their end.

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The Eco-Poetry of Sabina Messeg

Sabina Messeg is considered the founder of Israeli eco-poetry. On this episode, Marcela shares her love for the way Messeg’s flora act as main characters in her poems.

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I am Dareen Tatour

On this episode, Marcela reads poetry by Israeli-Arab poet Dareen Tatour, who was recently released after a 3.5 year legal battle. Tatour was incarcerated for incitement to violence and supporting terrorist organizations on social media. The incitement was within her poems, which were used as evidence in her trials and hearings.

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The Short Shorts of Alex Epstein

Alex Epstein’s short stories are sometimes as short as a single sentence, and have been described as examples of the “philosophical, or allegorical short-short story.” Born in 1971 in St. Petersburg, Epstein moved to the Israeli city of Lod when he was eight years old.

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Dinner with Joachim

On this episode, Marcela reads three of the six parts of Sharron Hass’s poem “Dinner With Joachim,” which is a critical inquiry into light as the root of rational thought.

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Simple, True, and Authentic: The Poetry of Mordechai Geldman

Mordechai Geldman’s work is often informed by his experience as a psychotherapist. “My poetry comes from the inner void that meditation creates,” Geldman writes in his preface to his collected works.

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I, Kohelet, Son of David, King in Jerusalem

It’s Sukkot—which lasts seven days in Israel. It is a time to remind ourselves how fleeting life is, and that we should seek a deeper meaning besides the fulfillment of material goods. Marcela reads her translation of “Kohelet.”

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A Story for Yom Kippur by S. Y. Agnon

For this Yom Kippur, we read a section of S. Y. Agnon’s “Twofold” translated by Jeffrey Saks.

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Poems for These Days of Repentance

Between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are the ten days known as the Days of Awe. Today we feature works by Yehuda Amichai and Ibn Gavirol fitting of these Days of Repentance.

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