Guest of the ilb 2001
Jehuda Amichai was
born Ludwig Pfeuffer in Würzburg in 1924. He died in Jerusalem on 22
September 2001. The author belonged to a family of German orthodox Jews
who emigrated to Palestine in 1935. At the age of 18 he joined the
Jewish Brigade of the British army and fought against the Germans in
North Africa. After 1945 he took part in the four Arab-Israeli wars.
His strong socialist-Zionist views were clearly demonstrated in his
decision to change his name at the age of 22. The name Amichai
literally means »my people live«. After completing his studies in
Biblical Science and Hebrew Literature he initially worked as a
teacher, and then as a lecturer at the University of Jerusalem.
Amichai’s
first volume of poetry, »UweJamim HaAcherim«, was published in 1955.
Many other lyrical volumes followed, as well as dramas, radio plays, a
novel, and a collection of short stories. The author attracted
considerable attention internationally, and in Israel he became the
most prominent and most popular poet. His verse has been quoted in the
name of a hairdressing salon in Tel Aviv and cited in two supreme court
verdicts. Itzak Rabin recited a poem by Amichai, translated into
English, during his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech in Oslo. The
poet’s fellow citizens believe that he helped pave the way for peace.
In 1982 he received the Israel Prize, and he was nominated for the
Nobel Prize for Literature several times.
Amichai was inspired
by Jewish lyric poetry dating back to the Psalms, which he then
combined with modern elements. His blend of classic Hebrew with
colloquialisms, idioms and slang revolutionized the language of Israeli
poetry and contributed towards the establishment of the »Tel Aviv
School«, a group of young writers who endeavoured to upset the
formalisms of classic Hebrew. German readers, whose first introduction
to the author was the 1988 poetry collection »Wie schön sind Deine
Zelte, Jakob«, are also fascinated by Amichai’s use of language. Günter
Kunert wrote: »In this country and in these times one rarely finds
poetry in which individual experience and history are insolubly linked
in this way, based on melancholic wisdom, yet with an almost playful
tone. And it is the way he seems to simply casually mention things, and
his direct, unpretentious language, interspersed with brilliantly
illuminating metaphors and expressions, which intensifies his message.«
Amichai’s only novel, the »poetic autobiography« (Ernst Piper)
»Nicht von jetzt, nicht von hier«, which looks back at the author’s
first visit to the place of his birth, Würzburg, after leaving the town
as a child, was published in 1963 and was enthusiastically received by
the New York Times, although nearly 30 years were to go by before it
was finally translated into German.
© international literature festival berlin | 
