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Teton Range in Spring
Blessed Are They Who Sow and
Do Not Reap ...
Do Not Reap ...
Blessed are they who sow and
do not reap -they shall wander in extremity.
do not reap -they shall wander in extremity.
Blessed are the
generouswhose glory in youth has enhanced the extravagantbrightness of
days -who shed their accoutrements at the crossroads.
generouswhose glory in youth has enhanced the extravagantbrightness of
days -who shed their accoutrements at the crossroads.
Blessed are the proud whose
pride overflows
pride overflows
the banks of their souls to become the modesty of
whiteness in the wake of a rainbow's ascent through a cloud.
whiteness in the wake of a rainbow's ascent through a cloud.
Blessed are they who
know their hearts will cry out from the wildernessand that quiet will
blossom from their lips.
know their hearts will cry out from the wildernessand that quiet will
blossom from their lips.
Blessed are these for
they will be gathered to the heart of the world, wrapped in a mantle of
oblivion-- their destiny's offering unuttered to the end.
they will be gathered to the heart of the world, wrapped in a mantle of
oblivion-- their destiny's offering unuttered to the end.
~ Avraham Ben Yitzhak
~
~
(Collected Poems,
translation by Peter Cole)
translation by Peter Cole)
The Poetry of Avraham Ben-Yitzhak
https://www.waz.easynet.co.uk/aby/
Avraham Ben-Yitzhak was the great poet of silence. He never published much - in fact, the
poems you can read here, in my English translations of the Hebrew
originals, constitute all the poetry that he ever published in his
lifetime, with the exception of the one that he repudiated after
certain changes were made by the editor against his will.
This site also contains a short essay on the life
of the man, which I wrote in 1994 or so. Sadly, the essay is nowhere near
as good as I thought it was when I wrote it, but it does cover the
basic biographical details of Ben-Yitzhak's life. A more concise
biography is available on the Institute for Translation of Hebrew
Literature site, here.
Although my Hebrew is fluent, I am not a professional translator,
and it may well be that there are problems with the translations. If
you find anything glaringly wrong, or have any other comments, please
do contact me to say so.
References:
- Avraham Ben Yitzhak - Complete Poetry
- Edited by Hanan
Haver, Hotzet HaKibbutz HaMeuchad / Sifrei Siman Kriah, 1992 - the
edition I used for the translations, and for much (not all) of the
information in the essay. - Meeting with a Poet - Leah Goldberg
- (originally published
in Hebrew as 'P'gishah Im Meshorer') - I read this once but don't have
a copy, and would love to hear of details of this book in any
language, preferably Hebrew.
Links:
- Shireshet (Hebrew) - Heavy, worthy, important, poetry site
- Hebrew
Poetry On The Internet (Hebrew) - Many further links to Hebrew poets and
poetry here - Radio Hazak (English) -
more Israeli music-based than Hebrew poetry-based, but none the worse
for it. - Avraham
Ben-Yitzhak (Danish) - Article on Avraham Ben-Yitzhak. I have no
idea what it says. - Leah Goldberg (English) - Wikipedia article on Leah Goldberg.
- Yehuda
Amichai (Hebrew) - collection of links to Amichai-related material. - Elisha Porat (English) - Biography of and links to works by this fine contemporary
Hebrew poet.
From Wikipedia
Avraham Ben-Yitzhak (1883 – 1950) was an Israeli Hebrew poet.
He was born Avraham Sonne, on September 13, 1883 in Przemyśl, Galicia, a region of Eastern Europe which has changed hands throughout history between Austria and Poland. In his youth, Przemyśl was part of the Austrian Empire, and he moved to Vienna to study. In 1938 he fled to the British Mandate of Palestine after the German occupation of Vienna. He died in 1950 in Israel of tuberculosis. He had only published eleven poems in his lifetime. These, and a few more, were rediscovered after his death.
He was a friend of Elias Canetti, who wrote a profile of him in the April 7, 1986 edition of The New Yorker. He was also a friend of James Joyce and rumored to be romantically attached to Leah Goldberg. Most of all, his friends remembered him for his long silences.
the hope which has no opposite in fear,
the strength so strong mere force is feebleness:
the truth more first than sun, more last than star....
— e.e. cummings