Adi Keissar (in
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 ...
: עדי קיסר; born December 11, 1980) is 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 wr ...
, and founder of the cultural group
Ars Poetica.
Biography
Keissar was born in the
Gilo
Gilo ( he, גִּלֹה) is an Israeli settlement in south-western East Jerusalem, with a population of 30,000, mostly Jewish inhabitants. Although it is located within the Jerusalem Municipality, it is widely considered a settlement, becaus ...
neighborhood of
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
. She is the third of four children in her family, which is of
Yemen
Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the north and Oman to the northeast an ...
i extraction.
Her mother Ziona, is a special education teacher, and her father, Benny, is a printer. Her mother's family came to Israel in the 1950s from Yemen. Her father's family arrived from
Sana'a
Sanaa ( ar, صَنْعَاء, ' , Yemeni Arabic: ; Old South Arabian: 𐩮𐩬𐩲𐩥 ''Ṣnʿw''), also spelled Sana'a or Sana, is the capital and largest city in Yemen and the centre of Sanaa Governorate. The city is not part of the Gove ...
in 1882.
From a young age, Keissar experienced bullying and discrimination because of her dark skin color, and according to her, she came to understand that she belongs to a low social status group.
During her compulsory army service, she worked as an infantry instructor, and began to develop her
Mizrahi
''Mizrachi'' or ''Mizrahi'' ( he, מזרחי) has two meanings.
In the literal Hebrew meaning ''Eastern'', it may refer to:
*Mizrahi Jews, Jews from the Middle East
* Mizrahi (surname), a Sephardic surname, given to Jews who got to the Iberian ...
identity. After an extended trip to South America and some time in New York, Keissar returned to Israel, and began working as a cultural reporter for a local Jerusalem newspaper. In 2009, she moved to Tel Aviv, and began writing for
Ha'ir
''Ha'ir'' (, lit ''The City'') is a weekly local newspaper published in Tel Aviv, Israel. The tabloid-sized newspaper was first published in October 1980. Since April 2005 when there was a major shakeup in the business structure of newspaper's p ...
.
In 2017, Keissar gave birth to a daughter.
Education
Keissar completed her bachelor's degree in the
Humanities
Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture. In the Renaissance, the term contrasted with divinity and referred to what is now called classics, the main area of secular study in universities at th ...
at the
Open University
The Open University (OU) is a British Public university, public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by List of universities in the United Kingdom by enrolment, number of students. The majority of the OU's underg ...
in 2008. In 2010, she completed an MFA in
screenwriting
Screenwriting or scriptwriting is the art and craft of writing scripts for mass media such as feature films, television productions or video games. It is often a freelance profession.
Screenwriters are responsible for researching the story, deve ...
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 ...
.
Career
Keissar started writing poetry at the age of 32, after years of reporting and screenwriting. She viewed poetry as white, elitist and unrelated to her.
But after finding some poems on newspaper clippings, she became inspired.
She began reading such poets as
Sami Shalom Chetrit,
Yona Wallach
Yona Wallach ( he, יונה וולך; June 10, 1944 – September 26, 1985) was an Israeli poet. Her surname also appears as Volach. She is considered a revolutionary Israeli feminist and post-modernist.
Wallach was a promising young poet, thoug ...
,
Yehuda Amichai
Yehuda Amichai ( he, יהודה עמיחי; born Ludwig Pfeuffer 3 May 1924 – 22 September 2000) was an Israeli poet and author, one of the first to write in colloquial Hebrew in modern times.
Amichai was awarded the 1957 Shlonsky Prize, the ...
,
Dahlia Ravikovich,
Vicki Shiran
Vicki Shiran ( he, ויקי שירן; February 28, 1947 − March 15, 2004) was an Israeli criminologist, sociologist, poet, film director, media personality and activist. She was a leader of a movement promoting Mizrahi Jewish consciousness in I ...
,
Erez Biton, and
Miri Ben-Simhon - and started writing her own works. Keissar is especially concerned with changing the perception that poetry is something generally out of reach, and believes it belongs to us all.
According to Keissar, poetry belongs in our homes and in the streets, not on high shelves in libraries. She says poetry that is not accessible is futile and serves no purpose. In 2017,
Israel's ministry of education began including Keissar's poems in the literature curriculum, and her work is also studied in Arab-Jewish culture studies at
Ben-Gurion University
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) ( he, אוניברסיטת בן-גוריון בנגב, ''Universitat Ben-Guriyon baNegev'') is a public research university in Beersheba, Israel. Ben-Gurion University of the Negev has five campuses: the ...
and
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 ...
.
Ars Poetica
Keissar found the typical Israeli poetry readings and spaces to be condescending and alien. In January 2013, she established poetry nights called Ars Poetica - which in Hebrew is a play on the latin phrase meaning "the art of poetry", whereas the word "Ars" also a commonly used racist
epithet
An epithet (, ), also byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) known for accompanying or occurring in place of a name and having entered common usage. It has various shades of meaning when applied to seemingly real or fictitious people, di ...
used towards
Mizrahim
Mizrahi Jews ( he, יהודי המִזְרָח), also known as ''Mizrahim'' () or ''Mizrachi'' () and alternatively referred to as Oriental Jews or ''Edot HaMizrach'' (, ), are a grouping of Jewish communities comprising those who remained i ...
. Keissar wanted to reclaim the word, and make it into a source of pride. Her original intention was to hold a single event, but it was so successful, that it became a monthly popular event.
Keissar claims that the
Israeli literature
Israeli literature is literature written in the State of Israel by Israelis. Most works classed as Israeli literature are written in the Hebrew language, although some Israeli authors write in Yiddish, English, Arabic and Russian. History ...
canon is
Ashkenazi
Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...
-Western-masculine, and that feminine and Mizrahi art is marginalized and excluded from the consensus. Ars Poetica, therefore, creates a space for the marginalized to express themselves and their art publicly.
Ars Poetica, according to Keissar, is a platform for social and political discourse on gender, social identity, and Israel's ethnic rift, which are generally absent from poetry meets, and from Israeli culture as a whole.
The evenings are intentionally Mizrahi - including Mizrahi music,
belly dancing
Belly dance (Egyptian Arabic: رقص بلدي, translated: Dance of the Country/Folk Dance, romanized: Raks/Raas Baladi) is a dance that originates in Egypt. It features movements of the hips and torso. It has evolved to take many different f ...
,
spoken word
Spoken word refers to an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a late 20th century continuation of an ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetics o ...
, and a newly formed sub-culture of Mizrahi poets, some of whom have become well-known and won national awards, such as
Roy Hasan
Roy Hasan (Hebrew: רועי חסן) (born 9 April 1983, in Hadera, Israel) is an Israeli contemporary Hebrew poet. He is a principal member of the Ars poetica literary movement. In 2015 Hasan was awarded the 2015 Bernstein Prize.
Hasan g ...
,
Tehila Hakimi
Tehila Hakimi (in Hebrew: תהילה חכימי; born February 27, 1982) is an Israeli poet and author.
Writing
Hakimi, who has a degree in mechanical engineering, began publishing her poetry in 2013, in the journals "Merhav" and " Ma'ayan", a ...
,
Mati Shemoelof, and others. According to some culture critics, Ars Poetica has given rise to a new art stream that has shaken the world of poetry, literature and culture in Israel.
Ha'aretz
''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 ...
culture section has called Keissar the most influential poet working in Israel today.
Publication and appearances
Keissar's poems have appeared in a wide variety of newspapers, magazines and journals in Israel and around the world, as well as in several
anthologies
In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors.
In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically catego ...
and multiple websites. Her work has been translated into at least eight languages.
Keissar also appears and lectures in festivals and educational institutions.
Her most noted poem, "I Am the Mizrahi", which has been integrated into the national curriculum, expresses the core of her artistic thesis:
''Don’t tell me how to be Mizrahi/Even if you’ve read
Edward Said
Edward Wadie Said (; , ; 1 November 1935 – 24 September 2003) was a Palestinian-American professor of literature at Columbia University, a public intellectual, and a founder of the academic field of postcolonial studies.Robert Young, ''Whi ...
/Because I’m the Mizrahi/Who’s not afraid of you/Not in admissions committees/ Not in job interviews/And not in airports/ Even though you ask me/Quite a few questions/With accusing eyes/ Searching me for Arab traces/How long did you come here for/And how much cash have you got/You didn’t come here to work, right?/You didn’t come here to work, right?''
Books
Keissar has published three collections of her poetry:
* "Black on Black" שחור על גבי שחור (
Guerrilla Tarbut
Guerrilla Tarbut () is an activist group of Israeli poets. Founded in 2007, the group aims to promote social and political causes through poetry, both in Hebrew and in Arabic, performed by its members during demonstrations against social injustic ...
, September 2014)
* "Loud Music" מוזיקה גבוהה (Ars Poetica, June 2016)
* "Chronicles" דברי הימים (Ars Poetica, 2018)
Editor:
* Ars Poetica, First Anthology - ערס פואטיקה, גרילה תרבות, May 2013
* Ars Poetica, Second Anthology - ערס פואטיקה, אסופה שנייה December 2013
Awards
* 2013 - Pessach Millin Award, from the Israeli Writers Association
* 2015 -
Ministry of Culture Ministry of Culture may refer to:
* Ministry of Tourism, Cultural Affairs, Youth and Sports (Albania)
* Ministry of Culture (Algeria)
*Ministry of Culture (Argentina)
* Minister for the Arts (Australia)
*Ministry of Culture (Azerbaijan)
* Ministry ...
Award for emerging poets
* 2015 -
Bernstein Literature Award, for ''Black on Black''
* 2015 - "Women at the Front" award, from Saloona magazine. The award announcement included these reasons: "For breaking the rules, giving a voice to the voiceless, and turning the margins into the center while providing a professional center stage to Mizrahi artists and creating a revolution in the cultural discourse".
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Keissar, Adi
Mizrahi feminists
Israeli women poets
Israeli poets
1980 births
Living people
Israeli people of Yemeni-Jewish descent
Open University of Israel alumni
Tel Aviv University alumni
People from Jerusalem
Writers from Jerusalem
Jewish women writers