Language and Identity in Contemporary Israeli Poetry, with Merav Rozenblum

Please register to attend this free in-person program. The Library is located at 1835 Ellis Street in San Francisco, with free garage parking at 1227 Pierce Street between Ellis and Eddy.  

As Hebrew became the dominant, and later the official, language of the Jews in the land of Israel and later the State of Israel, many other languages spoken by Jewish immigrants were marginalized. A new generation of Israeli poets explores the languages, and thereby the identities, that were lost, and in a way, tries to reclaim them. What is “the other Hebrew?” What is the relationship between two languages that a bilingual poet exists in? Merav Rozenblum will lead a reading and analysis of work by such Israeli writers as Erez Biton, Sami Shalom Chetrit, Eli Eliahu, Adi Keissar, and Almog Behar, among others.

The presentation is based on a unit on multilingualism and multiculturalism in Hebrew Literature taught by Merav Rozenblum at JCHS.

Merav Rosenblum teaches at the Jewish Community High School of the Bay in San Francisco. She holds a BA in English and Spanish literature, an MA in English literature, and an MA in translation from the Bar Ilan University School for Translators and Interpreters in Israel. In addition to her teaching work, she  is a translator and interpreter working from English and Spanish into Hebrew, her native tongue.