Dan Tsalka ( he, דן צלקה, 1936-June 15, 2005) was an Israeli writer.

Biography

Dan Tsalka was born in 1936 in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

. In World War II his family fled to the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

, where they lived in

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...

and then

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

. At the close of the war, when he was ten, he returned with his family to Poland, to the city of

Wrocław Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, rou ...

. He studied humanities at the city's university, engaging in boxing, an activity that appeared later in the novel ''Gloves''. In 1957 he immigrated to

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

in the " Gomułka

Aliyah Aliyah (, ; he, עֲלִיָּה ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from Jewish diaspora, the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel, which is in the modern era chiefly represented by the Israel, State of Israel ...

". He changed his name from Mietek to Dan, a name his sister suggested during their stay in an immigrant absorption camp (''maabara'') in

Yavne Yavne ( he, יַבְנֶה) or Yavneh is a city in the Central District of Israel. In many English translations of the Bible, it is known as Jabneh . During Greco-Roman times, it was known as Jamnia ( grc, Ἰαμνία ''Iamníā''; la, Iamnia) ...

. After studying

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 ...

at Kibbutz

Hatzor Hatzor ( he, חָצוֹר), officially Hatzor Ashdod, is a kibbutz in southern Israel. Located near Ashdod, it falls under the jurisdiction of Be'er Tuvia Regional Council. In it had a population of . Etymology The kibbutz is named after a b ...

, he enlisted in the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...

and served in the armored corps. After his discharge he studied philosophy and history at

Tel-Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) ( he, אוּנִיבֶרְסִיטַת תֵּל אָבִיב, ''Universitat Tel Aviv'') is a public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Locate ...

. He continued his studies in France, also residing for a time in the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and Italy. In 1967 he published his first novel ''Dr. Barkel''. He was the editor of ''Masa'', the literary supplement of the newspaper ''Lemerkhav'', and engaged in additional editing and translation. In 2000 he made a trip to Morocco with a friend, as he described in the book ''Morocco: Travel Notes''. He lived in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

with his wife Aviva. He died on June 15, 2005 at the age of 69 from cancer.

Awards

He won many Israeli literature awards, including: * In 1976, the

Brenner Prize The Brenner Prize is an Israeli literary prize awarded annually by the Hebrew Writers Association in Israel and the Haft Family Foundation. It was founded in the name of the author Yosef Haim Brenner Yosef Haim Brenner ( he, יוֹסֵף חַ� ...

; * In 1972, 1991 and 1997, the Hayetzira Prize; * In 1992, the Alterman Prize for the novel ''A Thousand Hearts''; * In 1994, the ACUM Prize for ''Clouds'' and ''Loose Pages Bound'' * In 2000, the ACUM Prize for lifetime achievement; * In 2004, the

Sapir Prize The Sapir Prize for Literature of Israel is a prestigious annual literary award presented for a work of literature in the Hebrew language. The prize is awarded by Mifal HaPayis (Israel's state lottery), and is a part of the organization's cultural ...

for ''Tsalka's ABC''.

Selected works

*''Dr. Barkel'' (1967) *''Philip Arbes'' (1977) *''The Third Voyage of the Aldebaran'' a-Masa Shel Ha-Aldebaran(1979)—science fiction for youth. *''Gloves'' fafot(1982) *''A Thousand Hearts'' lef Levavot(1991) *''On the Road to Aleppo: A Book of Stories'' (1999): selected stories in English translation, published in Ra'annana b
Even Hoshen
*''The War Between the Children of the Earth and the Children of the Pit'' ilhemet Bnei Eretz Bivnei Shahat(1993): science fiction for youth. *''Clouds'' nanim(1994) *''Loose Pages Bound'' appim Mehudakim Be-Atav(1993): essays. *''Morocco: Travel Notes'' arocco: Yoman Masa(2001) *''Under the Sign of the Lotus'' e-Siman Ha-Lotus(2002) *''Tsalka's ABC'' efer Ha-Alef-Bet(2003): autobiographical notes—a personal lexicon, arranged in alphabetical order, of events in the life of the author.

References

* דן צלקה (Dan Tsalka) in the Hebrew-language Wikipedia. Retrieved June 23, 2005.
Biographic notes and bibliography
at the Institute for Translation of Hebrew Literature. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
Excerpt from "Tsalka's ABCs" in English
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tsalka, Dan 1936 births 2005 deaths Israeli children's writers Israeli novelists Israeli science fiction writers Israeli male short story writers Israeli short story writers Polish emigrants to Israel Brenner Prize recipients Deaths from cancer in Israel 20th-century novelists International Writing Program alumni 20th-century short story writers 20th-century male writers Recipients of Prime Minister's Prize for Hebrew Literary Works