Meir Wieseltier (

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 ...

: מאיר ויזלטיר, born 1941) is a prize-winning Israeli poet and translator.

Biography

Meir Wieseltier was born in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

in 1941, shortly before the German invasion of Russia. He was taken to

Novosibirsk Novosibirsk (, also ; rus, Новосиби́рск, p=nəvəsʲɪˈbʲirsk, a=ru-Новосибирск.ogg) is the largest city and administrative centre of Novosibirsk Oblast and Siberian Federal District in Russia. As of the Russian Census ...

in southwestern Siberia by his mother and two older sisters. His father was killed while serving in the Red Army in

Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

. After two years in Poland, Germany and France, the family immigrated to Israel. Wieseltier grew up in

Netanya Netanya (also known as Natanya, he, נְתַנְיָה) is a city in the Northern Central District of Israel, and is the capital of the surrounding Sharon plain. It is north of Tel Aviv, and south of Haifa, between Poleg stream and Wingate I ...

. In 1955, he moved to

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 ...

, where he has lived ever since. He published his first poems at the age of eighteen. He studied at the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...

. In the early 1960s, he joined a group known as the Tel Aviv Poets. He was co-founder and co-editor of the literary magazine ''Siman Kriya'', and a poetry editor for the

Am Oved Am Oved ("A Working People") is an Israeli publishing house. History Am Oved was founded in 1942 by Berl Katznelson, who was its first Editor in Chief. It was created as an organ of the Histadrut, Israel's federation of Labor, with a goal of publi ...

publishing house.Meir Wieseltier profile
PoetryInternationalweb.org. Accessed September 12, 2022

Literary career

Wieseltier has published 13 volumes of verse. He has translated English, French and Russian poetry into Hebrew. His translations include four of

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's tragedies, as well as novels by

Virginia Woolf Adeline Virginia Woolf (; ; 25 January 1882 28 March 1941) was an English writer, considered one of the most important modernist 20th-century authors and a pioneer in the use of stream of consciousness as a narrative device. Woolf was born i ...

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

E.M. Forster Edward Morgan Forster (1 January 1879 – 7 June 1970) was an English author, best known for his novels, particularly ''A Room with a View'' (1908), ''Howards End'' (1910), and ''A Passage to India'' (1924). He also wrote numerous short stori ...

and

Malcolm Lowry Clarence Malcolm Lowry (; 28 July 1909 – 26 June 1957) was an English poet and novelist who is best known for his 1947 novel ''Under the Volcano'', which was voted No. 11 in the Modern Library 100 Best Novels list.

. Wieseltier often writes in the first person, assuming the role of a moralist searching for values in the midst of chaos. He has written powerful poems of social and political protest in Israel. His voice is alternately anarchic and involved, angry and caring, trenchant and lyric. Wieseltier is a poet in residence at the

University of Haifa The University of Haifa ( he, אוניברסיטת חיפה Arabic: جامعة حيفا) is a university located on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel. Founded in 1963, the University of Haifa received full academic accreditation in 1972, becoming Is ...

Awards

Among the many awards received by Wieseltier are the following: * In 1994, Wieseltier was the co-recipient (jointly with

Hanoch Levin Hanoch Levin ( he, חנוך לוין; December 18, 1943 – August 18, 1999) was an Israeli dramatist, theater director, author and poet, best known for his plays. His absurdist style is often compared to the work of Harold Pinter and Samuel Bec ...

) of 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 2000, he received 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 and poetry.

Published works

* Shirim Iti'im (Slow Poems), 2000 * Merudim Vesonatot (Merudim and Sonnets), 2009 * Perek Alef, Perek Beit (Chapter 1, Chapter 2), 1967 * Meah Shirim (100 Poems), 1969 * Kakh (Take It), 1973 * Davar Optimi, Asiyat Shirim (Something Optimistic, The Making of a Poem), 1976 * Pnim Vahutz (Interior and Exterior), 1977 * Motzah El Ha-Yam (Exit into the Sea), 1981 * Kitzur Shnot Hashishim (The Concise Sixties) 1984 * Ee Yevani (Greek Island) 1985 * Michtavim Veshirim Aherim (Letters and other poems) 1986 * Makhsan (Storehouse), 1994 ahsan* The Flower of Anarchy, 2003, * Forty, 2010, (Arbaim) * Davar Optimi, Asiyat Shirim (Something Optimistic, The Making of a Poem, a new edition + Appendix), 2012

References

External links

Biography on the Institute for the Translation of Hebrew Literature

God and Man in the Poetry of Meir Wieseltier
Speech on the occasion of Wieseltier's visit to

Hebrew Union College 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 ...

, Stanley Nash
The Flag Parade
A poem by Wieseltier published in English by

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 ...

Of Rebels, Wretches, Mongols and Kreplach
a tribute to Meir Wieseltier,

Natan Zach Nathan Zach (13 December 1930 – 6 November 2020; Hebrew: נתן זך) was an Israeli poet. Widely regarded as one of the preeminent poets in the country's history, he was awarded the Israel Prize in 1995 for poetry. He was also the recipie ...

Haaretz ''Haaretz'' ( , originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , ) is an Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel, and is now published in both Hebrew and English in the Berliner f ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wieseltier, Meir 1941 births Living people Israeli people of Russian-Jewish descent Soviet emigrants to Israel Israeli Jews 20th-century Israeli poets Israel Prize in literature recipients Israel Prize in Hebrew poetry recipients University of Haifa faculty Israeli translators English–Hebrew translators 20th-century translators 21st-century Israeli poets Israeli male poets 20th-century male writers 21st-century male writers Recipients of Prime Minister's Prize for Hebrew Literary Works Writers from Moscow