Amir Gilboa (

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

: אמיר גלבע) (born 25 September 1917 – died 2 September 1984) was an Israeli poet. Gilboa was awarded the

Israel Prize The Israel Prize ( he, פרס ישראל; ''pras israél'') is an award bestowed by the State of Israel, and regarded as the state's highest cultural honor. History The Israel Prize is awarded annually, on Israeli Independence Day, in a state cer ...

for literature in 1982.

Biography

Berl Feldmann (later Amir Gilboa) was born to a Jewish family in Radziwillow (now

Radyvyliv Radyvýliv ( uk, Радиви́лів; russian: Радивилов, Radivilov; pl, Radziwiłłów; yi, ראדזיווילוב, R'dzhivilub) is a small city in Rivne Oblast (region) of western Ukraine. It is the administrative center of Radyvyli ...

Volhynia Volhynia (also spelled Volynia) ( ; uk, Воли́нь, Volyn' pl, Wołyń, russian: Волы́нь, Volýnʹ, ), is a historic region in Central and Eastern Europe, between south-eastern Poland, south-western Belarus, and western Ukraine. Th ...

) in

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

. In 1937, he

immigrated Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

Mandate Palestine Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 i ...

. In 1942, he fought in World War II in the

Jewish Brigade The Jewish Infantry Brigade Group, more commonly known as the Jewish Brigade Group or Jewish Brigade, was a military formation of the British Army in the Second World War. It was formed in late 1944 and was recruited among Yishuv Jews from Manda ...

of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

. In 1948, he fought in Israel's Independence War. He died in 1984 at Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva due to complications from ischemic heart disease.

Literary career

In 1949, he published a volume of poetry entitled ''Sheva Reshuyot'' ("Seven Domains") about his war-time experiences. This collection, along with his ''Early Morning Songs,'' published in 1953, established his reputation as a leading Hebrew poet. His early work was influenced by

Avraham Shlonsky Avraham Shlonsky (March 6, 1900 – May 18, 1973; he, אברהם שלונסקי; russian: Авраам Шлёнский) was a significant and dynamic Israeli poet and editor born in the Russian Empire. He was influential in the development of ...

and

Natan Alterman Nathan Alterman ( he, נתן אלתרמן, August 14, 1910 – March 28, 1970) was an Israeli poet, playwright, journalist, and translator. Though never holding any elected office, Alterman was highly influential in Socialist Zionist politics, ...

, especially in its use of archaic, biblical

. Later, his language becomes more colloquial, with an abundance of rhymes, word play and satirical commentary.Israeli Poetry: A Contemporary Anthology, Warren Bargad, Stanley F. Chyet
/ref> ''I Wanted to Write the Lips of Sleepers,'' published in 1968, is devoted to the act of writing poetry and the poet's feelings.

Awards and recognition

Memorial plaque to the poet Amir Gilboa in Tel Aviv

* In 1971, Gilboa was awarded the

Bialik Prize The Bialik Prize is an annual literary award given by the municipality of Tel Aviv, Israel, for significant accomplishments in Hebrew literature. The prize is named in memory of Israel's national poet Hayyim Nahman Bialik Hayim Nahman Biali ...

for

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

. * In 1982, he was awarded the

, for Hebrew poetry.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gilboa, Amir 1917 births 1984 deaths Israeli poets 20th-century Israeli Jews Israeli people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent Ukrainian Jews Jewish poets Israel Prize in Hebrew poetry recipients 20th-century poets People from Rivne Oblast Mandatory Palestine military personnel of World War II Jewish Brigade personnel Polish emigrants to Mandatory Palestine

Biography

Literary career

Awards and recognition

See also

References