Hezy Leskly ( he, חזי לסקלי; July 26, 1952 – May 26, 1994) was an Israeli

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

choreographer Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

and dance critic.

Biography

Yehezkel (Hezy) Leskly was born in

Rehovot Rehovot ( he, רְחוֹבוֹת ''Rəḥōvōt'', ar, رحوڤوت ''Reḥūfūt'') is a city in the Central District of Israel, about south of Tel Aviv. In it had a population of . Etymology Israel Belkind, founder of the Bilu movement, ...

Czech-Jewish The history of the Jews in the Czech lands, which include the modern Czech Republic as well as Bohemia, Czech Silesia and Moravia, goes back many centuries. There is evidence that Jews have lived in Moravia and Bohemia since as early as the 10 ...

parents who survived the Holocaust. His father’s first wife and child were murdered. The family moved to

Givatayim Givatayim ( he, גִּבְעָתַיִים, lit. "two hills") is a city in Israel east of Tel Aviv. It is part of the metropolitan area known as Gush Dan. Givatayim was established in 1922 by pioneers of the Second Aliyah. In it had a population o ...

early in his childhood. Leskly wrote his first poems at 14 and published in

magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

s at the age of 18. At age 22, Leskly moved to

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

where he studied dancing and art. He worked as a painter and a choreographer, and published four books of poems. One of his most widely known works was ''Dutch Poetry - Four Imagined Dutch Poets and a Nonexistent Israeli Poet,'' published in 1992. Leskly was among the first Israelis to identify as

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

and was active in many LGBT organisations. The primary topics of Leskly's poetry were homosexual life and dance.

Death

Leskly died as a result of

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

-related complications in Givatayim on May 26, 1994, at the age of 41. He was interred at

Kiryat Shaul Cemetery Kiryat Shaul Cemetery ( he, בית העלמין קריית שאול) is a 320-dunam (32 hectares) Jewish burial ground in Northern Tel Aviv near the neighborhood of Kiryat Shaul. On the east side of the cemetery is a large military cemetery. Found ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leskali, Hezi 1952 births 1994 deaths People from Rehovot People from Givatayim Israeli male painters Israeli male poets Israeli choreographers Israeli art critics Israeli expatriates in the Netherlands 20th-century Israeli male artists 20th-century Israeli male writers 20th-century Israeli poets 20th-century Israeli painters Israeli people of Czech-Jewish descent 20th-century Israeli Jews Jewish Israeli artists Jewish Israeli writers Israeli gay writers Israeli gay artists Israeli LGBT painters Israeli LGBT poets LGBT choreographers Gay Jews Gay painters Gay poets 20th-century Israeli LGBT people AIDS-related deaths in Israel Burials at Kiryat Shaul Cemetery

Biography

Death

See also

References