Radu Klapper (; 14 September 1937 in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

– 30 October 2006 in

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 ...

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 ...

) was a Romanian-Israeli poet and author.

Career

Radu Klapper was born in 1937 in Bucharest in a Jewish-Romanian family and grew up in a multi-linguistic environment. He studied

librarianship Library and information science (LIS)Library and Information Sciences is the name used in the Dewey Decimal Classification for class 20 from the 18th edition (1971) to the 22nd edition (2003). are two interconnected disciplines that deal with inf ...

and

philology Philology () is the study of language in Oral tradition, oral and writing, written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also de ...

at the

University of Bucharest The University of Bucharest (UB) () is a public university, public research university in Bucharest, Romania. It was founded in its current form on by a decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza to convert the former Princely Academy of Bucharest, P ...

and after completing his studies published poetry in different anthologies, and worked as an art critic in various newspapers in

. In 1976 Klapper immigrated to Israel and became a theater and dance critic in foreign magazines in Israel and France such as ''Dance in Israel'' and ''Saison de la danse''. He also continued to publish his poetry in different Romanian anthologies. In 1991, he started to work in the Dance Library of Israel and in 1993, he became the library's director. During his time at the Dance Library, Klapper became known as a great supporter of artists and dancers, young and old. His vast knowledge and unique character turn Radu and the library to a pilgrimage site. His first Hebrew poetry book, ''The Hart Paces'', came out in 1998, and in 2003, he published two more books: ''Forbidden Songs'' and a prose book, ''Jews Against Their Will'', that dealt with the relationship between famous figures and their Jewish identity, among them: the French singer Barbara, the actress

Simone Signoret Simone Signoret (; born Simone Henriette Charlotte Kaminker; 25 March 1921 – 30 September 1985) was a French actress. She received various accolades, including an Academy Award, three BAFTA Awards, a César Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and ...

, the

psychoanalyst PsychoanalysisFrom Greek: and is a set of theories and techniques of research to discover unconscious processes and their influence on conscious thought, emotion and behaviour. Based on dream interpretation, psychoanalysis is also a talk th ...

Bruno Bettelheim Bruno Bettelheim (; August 28, 1903 – March 13, 1990) was an Austrian-born American psychologist, scholar, public intellectual and writer who spent most of his academic and clinical career in the United States. An early writer on autism, Bet ...

, the Camondo family and

Romain Gary Romain Gary (; 2 December 1980), born Roman Kacew () and also known by the pen name Émile Ajar, was a French novelist, diplomat, film director, and World War II aviator. He is the only author to have won the Prix Goncourt twice (once under a ps ...

. Radu was gay and his poetry often dealt with homoerotic desire and unfulfilled love, accompanied by wisdom and sharp insight. His writings introduced into Hebrew literature a touch of European poetry. In October 2006, at the age of 69, Radu Klapper died of pneumonia. After his death the Israeli artist Shy Abady created the art series "Radu" as an homage to Klapper and his image. The series was first presented in January 2012 at Zadik Gallery in

Jaffa Jaffa (, ; , ), also called Japho, Joppa or Joppe in English, is an ancient Levantine Sea, Levantine port city which is part of Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel, located in its southern part. The city sits atop a naturally elevated outcrop on ...

and was accompanied with some events that were dedicated to the image of Klapper.

Prizes and distinctions

* Beniamin Fundoianu Prize of the Association of the Israeli Writers of Romanian ExpressionN.Cajal,H.Kuller 2004

References

Sources

* Federația Comunităților Evreiești din România - Acad.Nicolae Cajal, Dr. Hary Kuller ''Contribuția evreilor din România la cultură și civilizație'', Editura Hasefer,2004, p. 838, (in Romanian)

External links

Irena Gordon, text from the catalogue of the series "Radu"

Hana Coman, text from the catalogue of the series "Radu"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Klapper, Radu 1937 births 2006 deaths 20th-century Israeli poets Burials at Yarkon Cemetery Deaths from pneumonia in Israel Israeli librarians Israeli poets Jewish Romanian writers Writers from Bucharest Romanian emigrants to Israel Romanian poets Romanian librarians Romanian erotica writers University of Bucharest alumni Gay Jews Israeli LGBTQ poets Israeli gay writers