Nathan Alterman (; August 14, 1910 – March 28, 1970) 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 (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

, and

translator Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''trans ...

. Though never holding any elected office, Alterman was highly influential in

Labor Zionist Labor Zionism () or socialist Zionism () is the Left-wing politics, left-wing, socialism, socialist variant of Zionism. For many years, it was the most significant tendency among Zionists and Zionist organizations, and was seen as the Zionist ...

politics, both before and after the establishment of the modern

State of Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

in 1948.

Biography

Nathan Alterman was born in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

(then part of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

). In 1925, when he was 15 years old, the family moved to

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

and he continued his studies at the Herzliya Hebrew High School. When he was 19 years old, he travelled to Paris to study at the

University of Paris The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...

(a.k.a. La Sorbonne), but a year later he decided to go to Nancy to study

agronomy Agronomy is the science and technology of producing and using plants by agriculture for food, fuel, fiber, chemicals, recreation, or land conservation. Agronomy has come to include research of plant genetics, plant physiology, meteorology, and ...

. Though maintaining close contacts with his family and friends in Tel Aviv and visiting them on vacations, Alterman spent three years in France and was highly influenced by his occasional meetings with French artists and writers. On his return to Tel Aviv in 1932, he started working at the Mikveh Yisrael agricultural school, but soon left it in favour of working as a journalist and poet. In 1933, when Alterman was 23 years old, he joined the literary circle "Together" (). Members of that literary group published the literary magazine "Columns" () and rebelled against the literary establishment of that time, identified with the poet

Hayim Nahman Bialik Hayim Nahman Bialik (; January 9, 1873 – July 4, 1934) was a Jewish poet who wrote primarily in Hebrew language, Hebrew and Yiddish. Bialik is considered a pioneer of modern Hebrew poetry, part of the vanguard of Jewish thinkers who gave voice ...

and his followers. On the 22nd of August, 1934, he married Rachel Marcus, an actress in "The Cameri Theatre" () In January 1941 their only daughter was born: Tirtza Atar, who would grow up to become a poet herself. Alterman is credited with bringing the seeds of the

marmande Marmande (; in Occitan language, Occitan, ''Marmanda'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Lot-et-Garonne ''Departments of France, département'' in south-western France. Geography Marmande is located 35 km north-west of Agen, on the ...

tomato The tomato (, ), ''Solanum lycopersicum'', is a plant whose fruit is an edible Berry (botany), berry that is eaten as a vegetable. The tomato is a member of the nightshade family that includes tobacco, potato, and chili peppers. It originate ...

to Israel, where it was the main species cultivated in the country until the 1960s.

Literary career

In 1933, when he was 23 years old, Alterman began to write songs for the

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

theatre "The Broom" ()." In 1934, he began to publish in the daily newspaper

Davar ''Davar'' (, lit. ''Speech, Word'') was a Hebrew-language daily newspaper published in the British Mandate of Palestine and Israel between 1925 and May 1996. A similarly named website was launched in 2016, under the name ''Davar Rishon'' as an ...

a rhymed column named "Tel Aviv Sketches" (). that addressed current affairs and during four months 26 of these rhymed columns were published. In November 1934 he left Davar and began to publish in the daily newspaper

Haaretz ''Haaretz'' (; originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , , ) is an List of newspapers in Israel, Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel. The paper is published in Hebrew lan ...

a similar column named "Moments" () but this time the columns had a less lyrical and more satirical nature, and he continued to publish these columns for eight years during which he published a total of 297 columns. Alterman's first published book of poetry was ''Kokhavim Bakhuts'' ("Stars Outside"), published in 1938. This volume, with its "

neo-romantic The term neo-romanticism is used to cover a variety of movements in philosophy, literature, music, painting, and architecture, as well as social movements, that exist after and incorporate elements from the era of Romanticism. It has been used ...

themes, highly charged texture, and metrical virtuosity," as Israeli critic Benjamin Harshav puts it, established him as a major force in modern

Hebrew literature Hebrew literature consists of ancient, medieval, and modern writings in the Hebrew language. It is one of the primary forms of Jewish literature, though there have been cases of literature written in Hebrew by non-Jews, mostly among the Arab cit ...

. His next major book was "The Joy of the Poor" ( ''simḥát aniyím'', 1941). This is a kaleidoscopic phantasmagoria consisting of 31 interconnected poems, all from the viewpoint of the ghost of a dead man obsessed with the living woman he loves – a reversal of the

Orpheus In Greek mythology, Orpheus (; , classical pronunciation: ) was a Thracians, Thracian bard, legendary musician and prophet. He was also a renowned Ancient Greek poetry, poet and, according to legend, travelled with Jason and the Argonauts in se ...

and

Eurydice Eurydice (; Ancient Greek: Εὐρυδίκη 'wide justice', classical pronunciation: ) was a character in Greek mythology and the wife of Orpheus, whom Orpheus tried to bring back from the dead with his enchanting music. Etymology Several ...

story. The dead man wants to protect his living love from war and poverty, but more than anything he wants to drag her into his world. His plans are continually frustrated. The light from a humble candle is enough to drive him back. The story reads like a supernatural thriller, but the rhyme and the meters are regular and elegant. In 1942, when the first news about the

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

reached the

Zionist Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...

Jewish community in British Mandate Palestine, Alterman wrote a poem, which can be described as a

sarcastic Sarcasm is the caustic use of words, often in a humorous way, to mock someone or something. Sarcasm may employ ambivalence, although it is not necessarily ironic. Most noticeable in spoken word, sarcasm is mainly distinguished by the inflectio ...

paraphrase A paraphrase () or rephrase is the rendering of the same text in different words without losing the meaning of the text itself. More often than not, a paraphrased text can convey its meaning better than the original words. In other words, it is a ...

on the Jewish

prayer File:Prayers-collage.png, 300px, alt=Collage of various religionists praying – Clickable Image, Collage of various religionists praying ''(Clickable image – use cursor to identify.)'' rect 0 0 1000 1000 Shinto festivalgoer praying in front ...

, "Praised are You ... who has chosen us out of all the nations". In this poem Alterman says, "At our children's cry, shadowed by scaffolds, we heard not the world's furor. For you have chosen us out of all nations, you loved and favoured us. For you have chosen us of all nations, of Norwegians, Czechs and Britons. As they march toward scaffolds, Jewish children of reason, they know their blood shan't be reckoned among the rest, they just call to the mother 'turn away your face'." In 1943, Alterman wrote the maqama "The Swedish Tongue", in which he praised Sweden's willingness to welcome Jewish refugees from Denmark. In 1943, he also wrote a poem that was critical of Pope

Pius XII Pope Pius XII (; born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; 2 March 18769 October 1958) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death on 9 October 1958. He is the most recent p ...

, a poem that is featured at the

Yad Vashem Yad Vashem (; ) is Israel's official memorial institution to the victims of Holocaust, the Holocaust known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (). It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; echoing the stories of the ...

museum. In 1945–1947, Alterman's weekly column in the Labour Movement "

" newspaper denounced the British army's oppressive measures and praising the illegal immigrant boats landing Jewish

holocaust survivors Holocaust survivors are people who survived the Holocaust, defined as the persecution and attempted annihilation of the Jews by Nazi Germany and its collaborators before and during World War II in Europe and North Africa. There is no universall ...

on the country's shores, in defiance of British policy. The most well-known of these is the 1945 "In Praise of an Italian Captain" (). In the early stages of the

1948 Arab–Israeli War The 1948 Arab–Israeli War, also known as the First Arab–Israeli War, followed the 1947–1948 civil war in Mandatory Palestine, civil war in Mandatory Palestine as the second and final stage of the 1948 Palestine war. The civil war becam ...

he wrote numerous patriotic poems, the most well-known of which is "The Silver Platter" ( ''magásh ha-késef''). Having become a canonical text read on Israel's Remembrance Day, this poem was written in response to

Chaim Weizmann Chaim Azriel Weizmann ( ; 27 November 1874 – 9 November 1952) was a Russian-born Israeli statesman, biochemist, and Zionist leader who served as president of the World Zionist Organization, Zionist Organization and later as the first pre ...

's words in December 1947, after the adoption of the UN Partition Plan for Palestine, "No state is ever handed on a silver platter... The partition plan does not give the Jews but an opportunity". In his poem, Alterman describes a scene similar to the

Biblical The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) biblical languages ...

Revelation on Mount Sinai, where the Jewish People are waiting to receive the Jewish state, as the Israelite were waiting to receive the

Torah The Torah ( , "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () ...

. And yet, instead of

Moses In Abrahamic religions, Moses was the Hebrews, Hebrew prophet who led the Israelites out of slavery in the The Exodus, Exodus from ancient Egypt, Egypt. He is considered the most important Prophets in Judaism, prophet in Judaism and Samaritani ...

descending with the Tablets of Stone, the people see two unfamiliar youths, a boy and a girl, wounded and near dead with exhaustion. When asked, "Who are you?" they reply, "We are the silver platter on which the state of the Jews was handed to you". He also wrote One from the GHL (GHL is a Hebrew acronym for overseas draft), which refers to the nearly 20,000 of

Holocaust survivors Holocaust survivors are people who survived the Holocaust, defined as the persecution and attempted annihilation of the Jews by Nazi Germany and its collaborators before and during World War II in Europe and North Africa. There is no universall ...

and other Jewish refugees who immigrated to the newly created State of Israel and were immediately drafted into the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...

and sent to the front lines. They had no military training and some 300 died in battle shortly after their immigration to Israel. The poem was published in Davar on the last day of the war, in protest of the inhumane treatment of these soldiers. The poem contrasts the sacrifice of these soldiers with the pretension of the state to be a safe homeland for Jewish refugees. Later the poem was set to music by Shem Tov Levy and first performed by Arik Einstein in his 1985 album ''Land Product''. It is often sung during the Israeli

Remembrance Day Remembrance Day (also known as Poppy Day owing to the tradition of wearing a remembrance poppy) is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth member states since the end of the First World War to honour armed forces me ...

and in ceremonies marking the 1948 war of independence. Some of Alterman's poems have been turned into popular songs, e.g., "A meeting with no end" (פגישה לאין קץ). An episode in Season 3 of the Israeli Netflix show '' Shtisel'' is named after one of his poems, "First Smile," which is read at a memorial service during the show. An English-language translation of "First Smile" by Robert Friend (from Found in Translation, Toby Press, 2006) is also included in the episode.

Political activism

During the 1950s, Alterman was opposed to the

martial law Martial law is the replacement of civilian government by military rule and the suspension of civilian legal processes for military powers. Martial law can continue for a specified amount of time, or indefinitely, and standard civil liberties ...

imposed at the time on Israel's Arab citizens (until 1966), and was also strongly supportive of workers' struggle such as the 1952 sailors' strike which was suppressed by the Ben Gurion Government. Memorial plate to the poet Nathan Alterman

Memorial plate to the poet Nathan Alterman

After the

Six-Day War The Six-Day War, also known as the June War, 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states, primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, Syria, and Jordan from 5 to 10June ...

, Alterman was one of the founders of the Movement for Greater Israel finding himself in alliance with right-wing activists whom he greatly opposed in earlier times of his career. He criticized

David Ben-Gurion David Ben-Gurion ( ; ; born David Grün; 16 October 1886 – 1 December 1973) was the primary List of national founders, national founder and first Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister of the State of Israel. As head of the Jewish Agency ...

(who only held at the time the position of a

Knesset The Knesset ( , ) is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Israel. The Knesset passes all laws, elects the President of Israel, president and Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister, approves the Cabinet of Israel, cabinet, and supe ...

member, but was still influential) for being too willing to give up the territories captured during the war in return for a peace agreement.

Awards and recognition

Alterman has been featured on Israel's NIS 200 bill since 2016. * In 1946, Alterman received the Tchernichovsky Prize for exemplary translation, for his translations of plays '' Phèdre'' by

Jean Racine Jean-Baptiste Racine ( , ; ; 22 December 1639 – 21 April 1699) was a French dramatist, one of the three great playwrights of 17th-century France, along with Molière and Corneille, as well as an important literary figure in the Western tr ...

and ''

Merry Wives of Windsor ''The Merry Wives of Windsor'' or ''Sir John Falstaff and the Merry Wives of Windsor'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare first published in 1602, though believed to have been written in or before 1597. The Windsor of the play's title is a ref ...

'' by

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 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 natio ...

. * In 1947, he received the Ruppin Prize for his book "''Joy of the Poor''". * In 1957, Alterman was awarded the Bialik Prize for literature. * In 1967, he again received the Tchernichovsky Prize, for translations of the plays of Moliere. * In 1968, he was awarded the

Israel Prize The Israel Prize (; ''pras israél'') is an award bestowed by the State of Israel, and regarded as the state's highest cultural honor. History Prior to the Israel Prize, the most significant award in the arts was the Dizengoff Prize and in Israel ...

, for literature. * In 2011, his portrait was chosen to be on Israel's currency.Nadav Shemer, ''Jerusalem Post'', 3/10/2011

Books (Hebrew)

Poetry

* ''Stars Outside'' (). Yachdav Publishing, 1938; Machbarot Lesifrut Publishing, 1945; Hakibbutz Hameuchad Publishing House, 1995 * ''Joy of the Poor'' (). Machbarot Lesifrut Publishing, 1941 * ''Plague Poems'' (). Machbarot Lesifrut Publishing, 1944 * ''The Seventh Column ol. 1' (). Am Oved Publishing, 1948; New editions: Hakibbutz Hameuchad Publishing House, 2003; 2004 * ''The Seventh Column ol. 2'' (). Davar, 1954 * ''City of the Dove '' (). Machbarot Lesifrut Publishing, 1957 * '' Poems of Ten Brothers '' (). Machbarot Lesifrut Publishing, 1961 * ''Summer Celebration'' (). Machbarot Lesifrut, 1965 * ''Pythagoras' Trial '' (). Machbarot Lesifrut, 1965 * ''Moments'' (). Hakibbutz Hameuchad Publishing House, 1974 * ''The Silver Platter: Selected Poems '' (). Ministry of Defense, 1974 * ''The Front Stand'' (). Hakibbutz Hameuchad Publishing House, Mosad Alterman, 1980 * ''From: Stars Outside, Joy of the Poor, Plague Poems, City of the Dove'' (). Hakibbutz Hameuchad Publishing House, 1980 * ''Poems 1931-1935'' (). Hakibbutz Hameuchad Publishing House, 1984 * ''In Praise of Frivolity '' (). Hakibbutz Hameuchad Publishing House, 1997 * ''Poems of Yore'' (). Hakibbutz Hameuchad Publishing House, 1999 * ''The Seventh Column : Israeli Art from the Benno Kalev's Collection'' (). Hakibbutz Hameuchad Publishing House, 2000

Plays

* ''Kinneret, Kinneret '' (). Hakibbutz Hameuchad Publishing House, 1962 * ''Ghosts' Inn '' (). Amikam, 1963 * ''Esther the Queen'' (). Hakibbutz Hameuchad Publishing House, 1966 * ''Last Days of Ur '' (). Hakibbutz Hameuchad Publishing House, 1990

Children-Picture Books

* ''The Tenth Chick '' (). Machbarot Lesifrut Publishing, 1943; new editions - Hakibbutz Hameuchad Publishing House, 1973, 2005 * ''The Singing Book of Friendship '' (). Machbarot Lesifrut, 1958 * ''The Puzzle Book'' (). Hakibbutz Hameuchad Publishing House, 1971 * ''To Children'' (). Hakibbutz Hameuchad Publishing House, 1972 * ''Og King of Bashan'' (). Hakibbutz Hameuchad Publishing House, 1975, new edition 2011 * ''Rhymes for children'' (). Hakibbutz Hameuchad Publishing House, 1976 new edition 2002 * ''What a Wonder'' (). Hakibbutz Hameuchad Publishing House, 1983 * ''A Tale of a Small Chirik'' (). Hakibbutz Hameuchad Publishing House, 2003 * ''A Tale of a Final Pe'' (). Hakibbutz Hameuchad Publishing House, 2000 * ''It All Happened at Hannuka'' (). Hakibbutz Hameuchad Publishing House, 2001

Songs

* ''Love Poems'' (). Hakibbutz Hameuchad Publishing House, 1998 * ''Tel-Aviv Serenade'' (). Hakibbutz Hameuchad Publishing House, 1999 * ''You Should Ring Twice'' (). Hakibbutz Hameuchad Publishing House, Israel Broadcasting Authority, 2002

Satire

* ''The Final Mask'' (). Maariv, 1968

Non-Fiction

* ''Breaking the Circle'' (). Hakibbutz Hameuchad Publishing House, 1971 * ''The Triangular Thread'' (). Hakibbutz Hameuchad Publishing House, 1971 * ''The Alterman Notebooks'' ol A(). Hakibbutz Hameuchad Publishing House together with Katz Research Institute for Hebrew Literature, Tel-Aviv University, 1977 * ''Little Tel Aviv'' (). Hakibbutz Hameuchad Publishing House, 1979 * ''The Alterman Notebooks'' ol B(). Hakibbutz Hameuchad Publishing House and Mosad Alterman, 1979 * ''The Alterman Notebooks'' ol C(). Hakibbutz Hameuchad Publishing House and Mosad Alterman, 1981 * ''Between the Poet and the Statesman'' (). Hakibbutz Hameuchad Publishing House, 1981, ext. ed. Hakibbutz Hameuchad Publishing House, Mosad Alterman, 1986 * ''The Alterman Notebooks'' ol D(). Hakibbutz Hameuchad Publishing House, 1986 * ''Both Roads'' (). Hakibbutz Hameuchad Publishing House, Mosad Alterman, 1989 * ''Essays and Articles'' (). Hakibbutz Hameuchad Publishing House, 2019

References

External links

Nathan Alterman
at Poetry International's website. Includes links to ''Moon'', ''The Killers of the Fields'' and ''On the Highroad''
Nathan Alterman
Poetry International's website, at the

Wayback Machine The Wayback Machine is a digital archive of the World Wide Web founded by Internet Archive, an American nonprofit organization based in San Francisco, California. Launched for public access in 2001, the service allows users to go "back in ...

Bottomless Deep: Moshe Dayan on Alterman
at Poetry International's website * Erlich, Tsu
Nathan the Wise - Natan Alterman, poet of Zionism, offered a bold new vision of Jewish national identity
''Azure'' no. 28, Spring 5767/2007 at AzureOnline
Israel and Zionism - Alterman, Natan (1910-1970) Poet, Journalist, and Translator

Neverending Meeting - Yossi Banai reads Nathan Alterman
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alterman, Nathan 1910 births 1970 deaths 20th-century Israeli poets Modern Hebrew writers Israeli columnists Israel Prize in literature recipients Israeli male dramatists and playwrights Herzliya Hebrew Gymnasium alumni Israeli Ashkenazi Jews Ashkenazi Jews in Mandatory Palestine Israeli people of Polish-Jewish descent Writers from Warsaw Hebrew-language poets University of Paris alumni 20th-century Israeli dramatists and playwrights Polish emigrants to Mandatory Palestine Polish expatriates in France Translators to Hebrew English–Hebrew translators French–Hebrew translators Translators to Yiddish Translators from Russian Burials at Kiryat Shaul Cemetery 20th-century Israeli translators Mandatory Palestine expatriates in France 20th-century Israeli agronomists Immigrants of the Fourth Aliyah Bialik Prize recipients Israeli satirists Israeli satirical columnists