Article
The 7th International Jerusalem “Mishkenot Sha’ananim” Poetry Festival
June 07, 2006
“Poetry in Jerusalem is an age-old tradition, dating from the earliest Biblical times. Yet, without doubt, it is the Psalms of King David which have left the most indelible mark on the poetic history of our city. The Psalms began a rich legacy of writings, paintings and music inspired by Jerusalem, by the city's spirituality and by its beauty.”
“This anthology of the works of poets who will converge on Jerusalem for our International Poetry Festival forges another link in a poetic tradition of millennia. We are confident that the inspiration which poets and writers have derived from Jerusalem over the centuries will continue with artists of today and of future generations.”
The first festival took place sixteen years ago; today, in the middle of the first decade of the third millennium, the forthcoming festival is planned in the same spirit, hoping to connect peoples and cultures through poetry, one of the clearest expressions of the human spirit. From the very beginning the festival has taken place in the international cultural centre whose name it bears: “Mishkenot Sha’ananim”.
Founded by the Jerusalem Foundation, Mishkenot Sha’ananim is a non-profit, non-governmental organization, which serves both as a guest house for artists and scholars and as an international cultural centre. Built against the backdrop of the magnificent walls of Jerusalem’s Old City, with a breathtaking view of the Judean Desert and the Mountains of Moab, Mishkenot Sha’ananim sits at the crossroads of past, present, and future.
Besides the experiences encountered by poets and audiences, each festival (except the sixth) has left behind a written mark in the form of an anthology of poems in the original language of the guest writers and in Hebrew translation, and English translations alongside the work of participating Israeli poets. Most anthologies have included short biographies of the poets as well. This time too, an anthology will be published, and, in addition, the ten Israeli poets who will be taking part in the festival will be represented in the pages of PIW, in this issue and the next.
Sixteen first-rate Israeli poets have been invited to the 7th festival, veterans like Chaim Gouri, as well as outstanding younger poets such as Dana Amir and Lyor Shternberg. Poets from abroad include those who are well-established in their home countries, and some who are known to Israeli readers as well. One of these is the Finnish poet Sirkka Turkka, who was a guest of the 1993 festival. A new collection of her poems, translated by PIW editor Rami Saari, slated to appear in Israel this year (Carmel Publishers), is eagerly anticipated by readers who became aquainted with her work during her previous visit and through the first volume of her poetry in Hebrew translation, also by Saari. Among the other foreign poets who will be present are the Pulitzer Prize-winning American, Jorie Graham, the Chilean, Marjorie Agosín (who writes in her native Spanish and resides in the US), and two Irish poets, Theo Dorgan, who has served as the head of the Poetry Ireland translation and publishing project, and Tony Curtis. Danish poet, Pia Tafdrup, a volume of whose poetry inspired by Jerusalem will soon appear in Israel in Hebrew, translated by Miryam Eitan, will also take part, as will New Zealander, Tusiata Avia, of Samoan descent, whose public readings almost overwhelm the audience with their biting humor and powerful, bilingual presentation. The Australian poet-priest Noel Rowe is also expected in Jerusalem, as well as Ryszard Krynicki of Poland, Italian vocal artist/poet Claudio Pozzani, Ataol Behramoğlu of Turkey, and, from Slovenia, Aleš Šteger, a young poet who has translated world-famous Israeli poet Yehuda Amichai into Slovenian. As these words were being written, not all invitees have yet responded, and even more poets may turn up at the festival.
One current running through the 7th festival is music. Along with traditional poetry readings, the festival will pay special attention to the connection between words and music. Concerts at the adjacent Music Centre will be held each day, demonstrating the many links between music and language: music made of words, and words made of music, from piyut, (a lyrical composition intended to embellish an obligatory prayer or any other Jewish religious ceremony, communal or private), to the secular lied and folk song.
A special panel will deal with the question of the presence of ancient poetry in contemporary culture via a discussion of medieval Hebrew poetry. Each morning there will be a translation workshop led by Dr. Aminadav Dykman: all interested festival guests may take part, and translated materials will be presented at the festival's end.
PIW editor Rami Saari's diary of the previous, 2003 International Jerusalem Poetry Festival may be read at Jerusalem Diary
On the prestigious and eclectic festival to take place in autumn in Jerusalem, that city of sun-dazzled extremes, by its artistic directors, literary scholar Ariel Hirschfeld and poet Agi Mishol.
This coming fall, from October 29 through November 1, the 7th International Jerusalem Poetry Festival will take place in the home of its sponsor Mishkenot Sha’ananim. The first festival took place in 1990, the second followed three years later (1993), the following three came at two year intervals (1995, 1997 and 1999); the most recent festival took place in 2003.Former Jerusalem mayor Teddy Kollek (still with us at the age of 95) wrote in the first festival anthology that:“Poetry in Jerusalem is an age-old tradition, dating from the earliest Biblical times. Yet, without doubt, it is the Psalms of King David which have left the most indelible mark on the poetic history of our city. The Psalms began a rich legacy of writings, paintings and music inspired by Jerusalem, by the city's spirituality and by its beauty.”
“This anthology of the works of poets who will converge on Jerusalem for our International Poetry Festival forges another link in a poetic tradition of millennia. We are confident that the inspiration which poets and writers have derived from Jerusalem over the centuries will continue with artists of today and of future generations.”
The first festival took place sixteen years ago; today, in the middle of the first decade of the third millennium, the forthcoming festival is planned in the same spirit, hoping to connect peoples and cultures through poetry, one of the clearest expressions of the human spirit. From the very beginning the festival has taken place in the international cultural centre whose name it bears: “Mishkenot Sha’ananim”.
Founded by the Jerusalem Foundation, Mishkenot Sha’ananim is a non-profit, non-governmental organization, which serves both as a guest house for artists and scholars and as an international cultural centre. Built against the backdrop of the magnificent walls of Jerusalem’s Old City, with a breathtaking view of the Judean Desert and the Mountains of Moab, Mishkenot Sha’ananim sits at the crossroads of past, present, and future.
Besides the experiences encountered by poets and audiences, each festival (except the sixth) has left behind a written mark in the form of an anthology of poems in the original language of the guest writers and in Hebrew translation, and English translations alongside the work of participating Israeli poets. Most anthologies have included short biographies of the poets as well. This time too, an anthology will be published, and, in addition, the ten Israeli poets who will be taking part in the festival will be represented in the pages of PIW, in this issue and the next.
Sixteen first-rate Israeli poets have been invited to the 7th festival, veterans like Chaim Gouri, as well as outstanding younger poets such as Dana Amir and Lyor Shternberg. Poets from abroad include those who are well-established in their home countries, and some who are known to Israeli readers as well. One of these is the Finnish poet Sirkka Turkka, who was a guest of the 1993 festival. A new collection of her poems, translated by PIW editor Rami Saari, slated to appear in Israel this year (Carmel Publishers), is eagerly anticipated by readers who became aquainted with her work during her previous visit and through the first volume of her poetry in Hebrew translation, also by Saari. Among the other foreign poets who will be present are the Pulitzer Prize-winning American, Jorie Graham, the Chilean, Marjorie Agosín (who writes in her native Spanish and resides in the US), and two Irish poets, Theo Dorgan, who has served as the head of the Poetry Ireland translation and publishing project, and Tony Curtis. Danish poet, Pia Tafdrup, a volume of whose poetry inspired by Jerusalem will soon appear in Israel in Hebrew, translated by Miryam Eitan, will also take part, as will New Zealander, Tusiata Avia, of Samoan descent, whose public readings almost overwhelm the audience with their biting humor and powerful, bilingual presentation. The Australian poet-priest Noel Rowe is also expected in Jerusalem, as well as Ryszard Krynicki of Poland, Italian vocal artist/poet Claudio Pozzani, Ataol Behramoğlu of Turkey, and, from Slovenia, Aleš Šteger, a young poet who has translated world-famous Israeli poet Yehuda Amichai into Slovenian. As these words were being written, not all invitees have yet responded, and even more poets may turn up at the festival.
One current running through the 7th festival is music. Along with traditional poetry readings, the festival will pay special attention to the connection between words and music. Concerts at the adjacent Music Centre will be held each day, demonstrating the many links between music and language: music made of words, and words made of music, from piyut, (a lyrical composition intended to embellish an obligatory prayer or any other Jewish religious ceremony, communal or private), to the secular lied and folk song.
A special panel will deal with the question of the presence of ancient poetry in contemporary culture via a discussion of medieval Hebrew poetry. Each morning there will be a translation workshop led by Dr. Aminadav Dykman: all interested festival guests may take part, and translated materials will be presented at the festival's end.
PIW editor Rami Saari's diary of the previous, 2003 International Jerusalem Poetry Festival may be read at Jerusalem Diary
© Agi Mishol, Ariel Hirschfeld
Sponsors
Partners
LantarenVenster – Verhalenhuis Belvédère