Customer Reviews

Selected Poetry and Drama

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Written by Lea Goldberg (1911-1970), establisher of the Hebrew University's Department of Comparative Literature and recipient of the Israel Prize, Selected Poetry and Drama presents Rachel Tzvia Back's fresh translation of a broad cross-section of Goldberg's poetry, as well as T. Carmi's classic translation of Goldberg's only theatrical play, "Lady of the Castle". Goldberg's sharply honest and insightful verse strips away all illusions masking the true appearance of both physical and mental realities. Notes on the poems explain in-depth nuances of certain translation issues, and an index of poems by first line allows for quick lookup of favorite verses. A seminal contribution to classic women's and Judaic poetry collections. "On the Mount of Olives": A landscape like this has no answers / when aging people / stand on the road / and a summer day passes them by / by the broken stones / in this place.

This is the most extensive collection of Lea Goldberg's writing in English that I know of.
Lea Goldberg was poet, playwright, literary scholar and author of wonderful childrens' book ( Ha- Ish Ha-Miphuzar Mi-Kfar Azar). (The scattered- brain man from the village Azar)
Her poetry is a poetry of in- and - outs, of threshholds between different worlds, of windows and mirrors, of the Latvia- Russia European north of her childhood, and the Mediterranean Israel of her late adolescent and adult years. It is a poetry of intimacies and minor inflections, of focusing on small details whose meanings magnify in quiet intonations.
As far as I can tell the poems are here very ably translated, and give a real reflection of her work and world.
The play is translated by the master translator of Hebrew Drama the late T. Carmi.
I think it is wonderful that such a volume is put out. However as a reader of Hebrew it would have meant much more for me had this been in a parallel- text edition.
The volume contains one - quarter of Goldberg's collected verse and the editor- translator claims that this includes her most well- known poetry.