Gabriel Levin (born 1948,

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

) is a poet, translator, and essayist.

Biography

Gabriel Levin is the son of American novelist Meyer Levin and French novelist

Tereska Torrès Tereska Torrès (born Tereska Szwarc; 3 September 192020 September 2012) was a French writer known for the 1950 book ''Women's Barracks'', the first "original paperback bestseller." In 2008 historians credited the republished book as the first pu ...

. His younger brother Mikael Levin is a

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

-based photographer. While growing up, Gabriel and his family split their time between New York, Paris, and

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 ...

. Today he lives in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. Writing of his volume of essays ''A Dune's Twisted Edge,'' poet

Ange Mlinko Ange Mlinko (born 19 September 1969 in Philadelphia) is an American poet and critic. The author of six books of poetry, Mlinko was named a Guggenheim Fellow for 2014–15. She teaches poetry at the University of Florida, and is the poetry editor of ...

has described Levin as "an American-born Israeli poet who has parlayed his restless peripatetics into a poetics."

Literary career

Levin is one of the founding editors of Ibis Editions, a small non-profit press devoted to publishing literature of the Levant. His work has appeared in numerous literary magazines including ''

P. N. Review Launched as ''Poetry Nation'', a twice-yearly hardback, in 1973, ''PN Review'' - now an A4 paperback - began quarterly publication in 1976 and has appeared six times a year since 1981 (PN Review 21). Two hundred and twenty-five issues of the magaz ...

'', ''

The Times Literary Supplement ''The Times Literary Supplement'' (''TLS'') is a weekly literary review published in London by News UK, a subsidiary of News Corp. History The ''TLS'' first appeared in 1902 as a supplement to ''The Times'' but became a separate publication i ...

'', ''

Chicago Review ''Chicago Review'' is a literary magazine founded in 1946 and published quarterly in the Humanities Division at the University of Chicago. The magazine features contemporary poetry, fiction, and criticism, often publishing works in translation and ...

'', '' Raritan'', '' Parnassus'', and ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

''. In 2012 British composer

Alexander Goehr Peter Alexander Goehr (; born 10 August 1932) is an English composer and academic. Goehr was born in Berlin in 1932, the son of the conductor and composer Walter Goehr, a pupil of Arnold Schoenberg. In his early twenties he emerged as a centra ...

set Levin's book ''To These Dark Steps'' to music for

tenor A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...

, children's

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...

, and

ensemble Ensemble may refer to: Art * Architectural ensemble * ''Ensemble'' (album), Kendji Girac 2015 album * Ensemble (band), a project of Olivier Alary * Ensemble cast (drama, comedy) * Ensemble (musical theatre), also known as the chorus * ''En ...

. The piece premiered in September 2012 at the

CBSO Centre The CBSO Centre is the administrative home and rehearsal centre of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the City of Birmingham Symphony Choruses (City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus, City of Birmingham Symphony Youth Chorus and City of Birmin ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

. Levin's writing has been described as part of the "Neo-modernist" tradition.

Published works

Poetry

*''Sleepers of Beulah'' – Sinclair-Stevenson, London 1991 *''Ostraca'' – Anvil Press Poetry, London 2000; French translation ''Ostraca'', Edition bilingue français-anglais, Le Bruit du temps, 2010 *''The Maltese Dreambook'' – Anvil Press Poetry, London 2008 *''To These Dark Steps'', Anvil Press Poetry, London 2012 *''Coming Forth By Day'',

Carcanet Carcanet Press is a publisher, primarily of poetry, based in the United Kingdom and founded in 1969 by Michael Schmidt. In 2000 it was named the '' Sunday Times'' millennium Small Publisher of the Year. History ''Carcanet'' was originally a li ...

, Manchester 2014 *''Errant'',

, Manchester 2018

Prose

*''Hezekiah's Tunnel'' – Publisher: Ibis Editions; 1997 (French translation: ''Le Tunnel d'Ezéchias et deux autres récits'', Le Bruit du temps, 2010) "delightful, discursive but moody midnight meditation on Jerusalem"1

Essays

*''The Dune's Twisted Edge'', Journeys in the Levant – Chicago University Press, Chicago 2013

Translations

*''Poems from the Diwan'' –

Yehuda Halevi Judah Halevi (also Yehuda Halevi or ha-Levi; he, יהודה הלוי and Judah ben Shmuel Halevi ; ar, يهوذا اللاوي ''Yahuḏa al-Lāwī''; 1075 – 1141) was a Spanish Jewish physician, poet and philosopher. He was born in Spain, ...

(Author), Gabriel Levin (Translator) Anvil Press Poetry 2002 *''On the Sea: Poems by Yehuda Halevi'' – Translated and introduced by Gabriel Levin, Ibis Press *''The Little Bookseller Oustaz Ali by Rassim''; "ravishly" (The Jerusalem Post) translated and introduced by Gabriel Levin *''So What: New & Selected Poems (With a Story) 1971–2005'' by

Taha Muhammad Ali Taha Muhammad Ali ( ar, طه محمد علي) (1931 in Saffuriyya, Galilee – October 2, 2011 in Nazareth) was a Palestinian poet. Biography Taha Muhammad Ali fled to Lebanon with his family when he was seventeen after their village came un ...

(Author),

Peter Cole Peter Cole is a MacArthur-winning poet and translator who lives in Jerusalem and New Haven. Cole was born in 1957 in Paterson, New Jersey. He attended Williams College and Hampshire College, and moved to Jerusalem in 1981. He has been called "o ...

(Translator), Yahya Hijazi, and Gabriel Levin (Translator and Introduction,

Copper Canyon Press Copper Canyon Press is an independent, non-profit small press, founded in 1972 specializing exclusively in the publication of poetry. It is located in Port Townsend, Washington. Copper Canyon Press publishes new collections of poetry by both popu ...

, 2005) *''Never Mind: Twenty Poems and a Story'' by

(Author),

(Translator), Yahya Hijazi (Translator), and Gabriel Levin 2000 Ibis Press . *
Muck
', A novel, by Dror Burstein, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2018

Collections

*''The Water's Edge: Meetings of Image And Word'', Ed. Ardyn Halter, with poems by Jennie Feldman,

Seamus Heaney Seamus Justin Heaney (; 13 April 1939 – 30 August 2013) was an Irish poet, playwright and translator. He received the 1995 Nobel Prize in Literature.

, Geoffrey Hill, Gabriel Levin,

Michael Longley Michael Longley, (born 27 July 1939, Belfast, Northern Ireland), is an Anglo-Irish poet. Life and career One of twin boys, Michael Longley was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, to English parents, Longley was educated at the Royal Belfast A ...

Jamie McKendrick Jamie McKendrick (born 27 October 1955) is a British poet and translator. Early life and education McKendrick was born in Liverpool, 27 October 1955, and educated at the Quaker school, Bootham, York, and Liverpool College. He studied English Li ...

, Paul Muldoon, Don Paterson,

Robin Robertson Robin Robertson (born in 1955) is a Scottish poet. Biography Robertson was brought up on the north-east coast of Scotland, but has spent most of his professional life in London. After working as an editor at Penguin Books and Secker and Warb ...

, and

Stephen Romer Stephen Romer, FRSL (born 1957) is an English poet, academic and literary critic. Life, education and teaching career Stephen Romer was born in Hertfordshire, England in 1957 and educated at Radley College and Trinity Hall, Cambridge. After a ...

, Lund Humphries, Burlington 2006.

Other

*''Found in Translation: 100 Years of Modern Hebrew Poetry'' by

Robert Friend Robert Friend may refer to * Robert Friend (poet) (1913–1998), American poet * Robert Friend (pilot) (1920–2019), US Air Force lieutenant colonel and Tuskegee Airman * Bob Friend (newscaster) Bob Friend, Member of the Most Excellent Order of ...

(translator editor) and Gabriel Levin (introduction and biographical notes) -1999 *''Pleasant if somewhat rude views'' by Mikael and Gabriel Levin, August 2005 One Star Press * Préface to

D. H. Lawrence David Herbert Lawrence (11 September 1885 – 2 March 1930) was an English writer, novelist, poet and essayist. His works reflect on modernity, industrialization, sexuality, emotional health, vitality, spontaneity and instinct. His best-k ...

, '' Croquis étrusques'', Le Bruit du temps, 2010.

References

External links

Ibis edition's official websiteStephen Romer's review of ''Poems from the Diwan''Eric Ormsby's review of ''Ostraca'' and ''Poems from the Diwan''
* ttp://www.haaretz.com/weekend/week-s-end/levantine-travel-narratives-that-roam-far-and-wide.premium-1.508138/ Review of ''The Dunes twisted Edge'', Haaretz
After Webern, featured in TLS, introduced by Andrew McCullochSleeper in the Wadi, featured in The Guardian

Review The Maltese Dreambook , Charles Bainbridge, The GuardianReview of The Dune's Twisted Edge, Kanishk Tharoor, The National

Henry King "In the Footsteps of Gabriel Levin, PN review

Adam Kirsch, review of "The Dunes Twisted Edge"

starred review of "Muck", by Dror Burstein, tras. Gabriel Levin, Kirkus reviews
{{DEFAULTSORT:Levin, Gabriel Israeli Jews Writers from Jerusalem 1948 births Living people French emigrants to Israel Israeli people of French-Jewish descent Israeli people of Polish-Jewish descent Writers from Paris 20th-century translators 21st-century translators Israeli male poets 20th-century Israeli poets 21st-century Israeli poets Israeli translators 20th-century French male writers 21st-century male writers French male non-fiction writers