Review (PDF) The Poetry Of Yehuda Amichai
The largest English-language collection to date from Israel’s finest poetFew poets have demonstrated as persuasively as Yehuda Amichai why poetry matters. One of the major poets of the twentieth century, Amichai created remarkably accessible poems, vivid in their evocation of the Israeli landscape and historical predicament, yet universally resonant. His are some of the most moving love poems written in any language in the past two generations―some exuberant, some powerfully erotic, many suffused with sadness over separation that casts its shadow on love. In a country torn by armed conflict, these poems poignantly assert the preciousness of private experience, cherished under the repeated threats of violence and death. Amichai’s poetry has attracted a variety of gifted English translators on both sides of the Atlantic from the 1960s to the present. Assembled by the award-winning Hebrew scholar and translator Robert Alter, The Poetry of Yehuda Amichai is by far the largest selection of the master poet’s work to appear in English, gathering the best of the existing translations as well as offering English versions of many previously untranslated poems. With this collection, Amichai’s vital poetic voice is now available to English readers as it never has been before.
Hardcover: 576 pages
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux; 1St Edition edition (November 3, 2015)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0374235252
ISBN-13: 978-0374235253
Product Dimensions: 6.3 x 1.3 x 9.2 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #151,876 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #45 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Poetry > Regional & Cultural > Middle Eastern #51 in Books > Literature & Fiction > World Literature > Middle Eastern
Alter has done a tremendous job of selecting the best of previous translations of Amichai's poetry by Chana Bloch (singly or with Chana Kronfeld), Benjamin & Barbara Harshav, Stephen Mitchell, Assia Guttman, Glenda Abramson & Tudor Parfitt, and Ruth Nevo.Alter also translated many poems himself (splendidly) and commissioned excellent new translations from Leon Wieseltier and Bloch/Kronfeld. He includes a perceptive ten-page introduction and a limited number of brief but helpful notes (twelve pages).Even if you own other volumes of Amichai's poetry, this is a must buy if you enjoy this poet! Alter includes 524 pages of poems, and he states in his introduction that a complete edition of Amichai's poetry would have been more than three times the size of this one. The most comprehensive previous edition was that by the Harshavs (470 pages of poems), a solid collection, but one that included some relatively weaker poetry. Alter's edition seems to me to be very carefully selected.
This is an excellent and generous selection of Amichai's work - not quite all of his best-known poems, but lots of those just as good and less famous. Unlike other volumes of Amichai available in English, this uses a variety of translations, some previously unpublished.Alter's brief introduction discusses the translation problems presented by a poet many of whose words echo the Bible or the Jewish liturgy, and who also uses Hebrew in non-standard ways. Read it for the enlightenment, but the poetry speaks for itself.Amichai well deserves his standing in the first rank of modern poets, and this book belongs in the library of anyone who has caught his music and his mind in earlier volumes.
Brilliant, famous Israeli poet. Translations done extremely well by team of translators.This is NOT a comprehensive collection of his poetry. For example, two of his most frequently reprinted poems are not included.1. The Diameter of the Bomb2. The Real hero of the Isaac story was the RamHowever, this book pulls together his poetry over decades. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED,
I have read his poetry before but having this book before me is like dipping into a box of jewels and never knowing what glorious gem will be found. His poetry is addictive; one starts to read one poem and then cannot stop reading another and another and then going back and rereading the first. I have given at least 6 to friends and plan on giving many more, even to those who never 'touch' a poem.
The poetry of Yehuda Amichai never ceases to impress and inspire and this is the most comprehensive collection available in English. There is certainly great care and insight in the editing.The paper used for this collection is a bit too thin and does not feels up to the noble content of the book.
Incredible Poetry! Yehuda Amichai is in my opinion, one of the finest poets of his age. The language is stunning and nearly every poem resonates with truth, experience and beauty.
This poetry is very approachable. I enjoyed reading and identifying with the poet and absorbing the essence of the last third of the 20th. century.The other items are gifts. I did not read or view them.
It's Amachai. Always great poetry. Israel's national poet, an honor well-deserved. This is an excellent anthology with the best translations available.
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