Avraham Shlonsky
Encyclopedia
Avraham Shlonsky was a significant and dynamic Israel
i poet and editor
born in Russian Empire
.
He was influential in the development of modern Hebrew
and its literature in Israel through his many acclaimed translations
of literary classics, particularly from Russian, as well as his own original Hebrew children's classics. Known for his humor, Shlonsky earned the nickname "Lashonsky" from the wisecrackers of his generation (lashon means "tongue", i.e., "language") for his unusually clever and astute innovations in the newly evolving Hebrew language.
family in Kryukovo (Poltava
guberniya
, now a part of Kremenchuk
, Ukraine). His younger sister was composer and pianist Verdina Shlonsky
.
In 1913, when Shlonsky was 13, he was sent to Ottoman Palestine to study at the prestigious Herzliya Hebrew High School
in Tel Aviv
. When the First World War broke out, he returned to Ukraine.
Shlonsky published his first poem in 1919 in the newspaper Ha-Shiluah. In 1921 he relocated to the Palestine as a development worker, paving roads and working in construction. At the same time, he contributed to Jewish cultural life with songs for satirical stage productions, as well as the Purim
holiday costume balls that were a tradition in early Tel Aviv. Even at this early stage in his career as a poet, he showed a tendency for witty writing, incorporating linguistic innovations in the revived and developing Hebrew language. During this period, he edited the literary columns of several newspapers.
Gradually, he became the representative of the "rebel" group that rebelled against the poetry of Bialik
and his generation, expressing a particular aversion to what was seen as their characteristic clichés. The new group tried to create a vibrant, youthful, lively poetry, and not perpetuate what they saw as being something second-hand
from the literary establishment. For years, perhaps as a result of this stance, Shlonsky's poetry was not taught in schools alongside the classic poems of Bialik, Shaul Tchernichovsky
, David Shimoni
, and others.
In 1933 Shlonsky founded the literary weekly Turim, which was identified with the "Yachdav" society in which major poets Natan Alterman and Leah Goldberg
were also members. As an editor, Shlonsky gave aspiring poets an opportunity to publish their poems. Dahlia Ravikovitch
merited one such opportunity when her first poem was published in the literary quarterly Orlogin edited by Shlonsky.
Shlonsky was noted for his sensitive activism on behalf of Boris Gaponov. Gaponov, as editor of the Communist Party daily in an auto plant in Soviet Georgia, translated the Georgia
n epic The Knight in the Panther's Skin
by Shota Rustaveli
into Hebrew. Shlonsky orchestrated the publication of this translation in Israel, and was among those who worked to enable Gaponov to immigrate to Israel. When Gaponov, who had learned Hebrew by listening to Israel Radio broadcasts, finally immigrated to Israel he was already very ill and close to death. Israeli television viewers of the time remember the image of Shlonsky stroking Gaponov's head in a loving, fatherly manner, as the latter lay on his sickbed.
Despite his reputation for comic wit, Shlonsky did not shrink from the tragic situation around him, but rather expressed it in his works. In the poem "Distress" he laments the fate of the victims of the First World War and of the Jews who suffered from pogrom
s in Ukraine during the Bolshevik revolution.
During the Holocaust
, he published a collection of verse titled ממחשכים (From Concealing Shadows) in which he expressed his feelings from that darkest period in human history. He particularly lamented the fate of the Jews in a diseased Europe.
Avraham Shlonsky died in Tel Aviv in 1973.
In 2005, he was voted the 175th-greatest Israeli of all time, in a poll by the Israeli news website Ynet
to determine whom the general public considered the 200 Greatest Israelis.
Shlonsky is also considered among the finest Hebrew children's poets, for books such as Mickey Who? and Me and Tali in Lhama Country.
The play Utzli-Gutzli, about the dwarf Rumpelstiltskin
of German legend, became a classic among Hebrew children's plays. In Shlonsky's translation for the stage, all of the monologues and dialogues are spoken in rhyme. They incorporate sophisticated wordplay using the Hebrew language at a high level. The following example from Utzli-Gutzli is presented with a transliteration, placing accents on stressed syllables. An unauthorized translation follows.
In the translation of foreign-language works, Shlonsky's uniqueness is evident. The characteristic Shlonskian style is recognizable from the very first lines of each work and continues to be greatly admired by writers and readers of Hebrew literature. Shlonsky translated many of the world's best known classics: William Shakespeare
, Anton Chekhov
, Nikolai Gogol
, Romain Rolland
, and others.
In his distinguished translation of Hamlet
, which a score of Hebrew translators had already tackled, Shlonsky's distinctive language is again evident. He translated Shakespeare from Russian, as he was not a master of English. Yet translating at second hand did not mar the quality of his result. When Hamlet tells his mother Gertrude not to sleep with his uncle Claudius, who murdered his father, Shlonsky uses the consonance min`i dodayikh midodi: "withhold your love from my uncle", where the unusual word dodayikh (your love) evokes the Song of Solomon
. The conventional translation is al ta`ali al yetzu`ei dodi (do not go upon my uncle's couch).
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i poet and editor
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
born in Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
.
He was influential in the development of modern Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
and its literature in Israel through his many acclaimed translations
Translations
Translations is a three-act play by Irish playwright Brian Friel written in 1980. It is set in Baile Beag , a small village at the heart of 19th century agricultural Ireland...
of literary classics, particularly from Russian, as well as his own original Hebrew children's classics. Known for his humor, Shlonsky earned the nickname "Lashonsky" from the wisecrackers of his generation (lashon means "tongue", i.e., "language") for his unusually clever and astute innovations in the newly evolving Hebrew language.
Life
Shlonsky was born to a HasidicHasidic Judaism
Hasidic Judaism or Hasidism, from the Hebrew —Ḥasidut in Sephardi, Chasidus in Ashkenazi, meaning "piety" , is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that promotes spirituality and joy through the popularisation and internalisation of Jewish mysticism as the fundamental aspects of the Jewish faith...
family in Kryukovo (Poltava
Poltava
Poltava is a city in located on the Vorskla River in central Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Poltava Oblast , as well as the surrounding Poltava Raion of the oblast. Poltava's estimated population is 298,652 ....
guberniya
Guberniya
A guberniya was a major administrative subdivision of the Russian Empire usually translated as government, governorate, or province. Such administrative division was preserved for sometime upon the collapse of the empire in 1917. A guberniya was ruled by a governor , a word borrowed from Latin ,...
, now a part of Kremenchuk
Kremenchuk
Kremenchuk is an important industrial city in the Poltava Oblast of central Ukraine. Serving as the administrative center of the Kremenchutskyi Raion , the city itself is also designated as a separate raion within the oblast, and is located on the banks of Dnieper River.-History:Kremenchuk was...
, Ukraine). His younger sister was composer and pianist Verdina Shlonsky
Verdina Shlonsky
Verdina Shlonsky was an Israeli composer, pianist, and piano teacher, often described as the leading female Israeli composer of her time....
.
In 1913, when Shlonsky was 13, he was sent to Ottoman Palestine to study at the prestigious Herzliya Hebrew High School
Herzliya Hebrew High School
The Herzliya Hebrew Gymnasium , originally known as HaGymnasia HaIvrit is a historic high school in Tel Aviv, Israel.-History:...
in Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
. When the First World War broke out, he returned to Ukraine.
Shlonsky published his first poem in 1919 in the newspaper Ha-Shiluah. In 1921 he relocated to the Palestine as a development worker, paving roads and working in construction. At the same time, he contributed to Jewish cultural life with songs for satirical stage productions, as well as the Purim
Purim
Purim is a Jewish holiday that commemorates the deliverance of the Jewish people in the ancient Persian Empire from destruction in the wake of a plot by Haman, a story recorded in the Biblical Book of Esther .Purim is celebrated annually according to the Hebrew calendar on the 14th...
holiday costume balls that were a tradition in early Tel Aviv. Even at this early stage in his career as a poet, he showed a tendency for witty writing, incorporating linguistic innovations in the revived and developing Hebrew language. During this period, he edited the literary columns of several newspapers.
Bialik
Bialik was originally a Polish/Czech surname before it was adopted by the Jewish population. The name probably originated from the Polish word Biały...
and his generation, expressing a particular aversion to what was seen as their characteristic clichés. The new group tried to create a vibrant, youthful, lively poetry, and not perpetuate what they saw as being something second-hand
Second-Hand
Second-Hand was a 2005 Romanian film directed by Dan Piţa.-Plot summary:The film's plot surrounds the romantic involvement of two contrasting characters: Petre , a Mafioso, and Andreea , a young violin player. The pair meet and fall in love...
from the literary establishment. For years, perhaps as a result of this stance, Shlonsky's poetry was not taught in schools alongside the classic poems of Bialik, Shaul Tchernichovsky
Shaul Tchernichovsky
Shaul Tchernichovsky , was a Russian-born Hebrew poet. He is considered one of the great Hebrew poets, identified with nature poetry, and as a poet greatly influenced by the culture of ancient Greece.- Life :...
, David Shimoni
David Shimoni
David Shimoni was an Israeli poet, writer and translator.David Shimonovitch was born in Babruysk in Belarus to Nissim Shimonovitch and Malka Fridland Although he lived in Ottoman Palestine for a year in 1909, he did not immigrate to British-administered Palestine...
, and others.
In 1933 Shlonsky founded the literary weekly Turim, which was identified with the "Yachdav" society in which major poets Natan Alterman and Leah Goldberg
Leah Goldberg
Leah Goldberg was a prolific Hebrew poet, author, playwright, literary translator, and comparative literary researcher. Her writings are considered classics of Israeli literature and remain very popular among Hebrew speaking Israelis.-Biography:...
were also members. As an editor, Shlonsky gave aspiring poets an opportunity to publish their poems. Dahlia Ravikovitch
Dahlia Ravikovitch
-Biography:Ravikovitch was born in Ramat Gan on November 27, 1936. She learned to read and write at the age of three. Her father, Levi, was a Russian-born Jewish engineer who arrived in the British Mandate of Palestine from China. Her mother, Michal, was a teacher who came from a religious...
merited one such opportunity when her first poem was published in the literary quarterly Orlogin edited by Shlonsky.
Shlonsky was noted for his sensitive activism on behalf of Boris Gaponov. Gaponov, as editor of the Communist Party daily in an auto plant in Soviet Georgia, translated the Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
n epic The Knight in the Panther's Skin
The Knight in the Panther's Skin
The Knight in the Panther's Skin is an epic poem, consisting of over 1600 shairi quatrains, was written in the 12th century by the Georgian epic-poet Shota Rustaveli, who was a Prince and Treasurer at the royal court of Queen Tamar of Georgia. The Knight in the Panther's Skin is often seen as...
by Shota Rustaveli
Shota Rustaveli
Shota Rustaveli was a Georgian poet of the 12th century, and one of the greatest contributors to Georgian literature. He is author of "The Knight in the Panther's Skin" , the Georgian national epic poem....
into Hebrew. Shlonsky orchestrated the publication of this translation in Israel, and was among those who worked to enable Gaponov to immigrate to Israel. When Gaponov, who had learned Hebrew by listening to Israel Radio broadcasts, finally immigrated to Israel he was already very ill and close to death. Israeli television viewers of the time remember the image of Shlonsky stroking Gaponov's head in a loving, fatherly manner, as the latter lay on his sickbed.
Despite his reputation for comic wit, Shlonsky did not shrink from the tragic situation around him, but rather expressed it in his works. In the poem "Distress" he laments the fate of the victims of the First World War and of the Jews who suffered from pogrom
Pogrom
A pogrom is a form of violent riot, a mob attack directed against a minority group, and characterized by killings and destruction of their homes and properties, businesses, and religious centres...
s in Ukraine during the Bolshevik revolution.
During the Holocaust
The Holocaust
The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...
, he published a collection of verse titled ממחשכים (From Concealing Shadows) in which he expressed his feelings from that darkest period in human history. He particularly lamented the fate of the Jews in a diseased Europe.
Avraham Shlonsky died in Tel Aviv in 1973.
Awards
- In 1946, Shlonsky received the Tchernichovsky PrizeTchernichovsky PrizeThe Tchernichovsky Prize is an Israeli prize awarded to individuals for exemplary works of translation into Hebrew. It is awarded by the municipality of Tel Aviv-Yafo. Although initailly awarded annually, it is now awarded every two years....
for exemplary translation, for his translations of the novel Eugene OneginEugene OneginEugene Onegin is a novel in verse written by Alexander Pushkin.It is a classic of Russian literature, and its eponymous protagonist has served as the model for a number of Russian literary heroes . It was published in serial form between 1825 and 1832...
by Alexander Pushkin and the play HamletHamletThe Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
by ShakespeareWilliam ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
. - In 1959, he was awarded the Bialik PrizeBialik PrizeThe 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 Hayyim Nahman Bialik. There are two separate prizes, one specifically for "Literature", which is in the field of fiction,...
for literatureHebrew literatureHebrew 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...
(jointly with Eliezer SteinmanEliezer SteinmanEliezer Steinman was a Russian-born Israeli writer, journalist and editor.-Biography:Steinman was born in 1892 in a village in Podolia in the Russian Empire, later part of Poland, now in Ukraine. In his youth, while studying in Chişinău to obtain semikhah to become a rabbi, he began to publish his...
). - In 1967, he was awarded the Israel PrizeIsrael PrizeThe Israel Prize is an award handed out by the State of Israel and is largely regarded as the state's highest honor. It is presented annually, on Israeli Independence Day, in a state ceremony in Jerusalem, in the presence of the President, the Prime Minister, the Knesset chairperson, and the...
, for literature.
In 2005, he was voted the 175th-greatest Israeli of all time, in a poll by the Israeli news website Ynet
Ynet
Ynet is the most popular Israeli news and general content website. It is owned by the same conglomerate that operates Yediot Ahronot, the country's secondleading daily newspaper...
to determine whom the general public considered the 200 Greatest Israelis.
Works
His collection of verse Rough Stones exemplifies his work as a mature poet. Poems from the Long Corridor is a collection of reflections on the nature of life and death.Shlonsky is also considered among the finest Hebrew children's poets, for books such as Mickey Who? and Me and Tali in Lhama Country.
The play Utzli-Gutzli, about the dwarf Rumpelstiltskin
Rumpelstiltskin
Rumpelstiltskin is the eponymous character and protagonist of a fairy tale which originated in Germany . The tale was collected by the Brothers Grimm, who first published it in the 1812 edition of Children's and Household Tales...
of German legend, became a classic among Hebrew children's plays. In Shlonsky's translation for the stage, all of the monologues and dialogues are spoken in rhyme. They incorporate sophisticated wordplay using the Hebrew language at a high level. The following example from Utzli-Gutzli is presented with a transliteration, placing accents on stressed syllables. An unauthorized translation follows.
| yed`ú kol ir, kol kfar vapélekh: | ידעו כל עיר, כל כפר ופלך: |
| reishít chokhmá – misím lamélekh! | ראשית חוכמה – מסים למלך! |
| misím, misím, ve`ód misím – | מסים, מסים, ועוד מסים – |
| veló chasím al hakisím! | ולא חסים על הכיסים! |
- Every city, province, town, learn the first rule: pay the crown!
- Tax and tariff, fee and fare, not a pocket shall you spare!
In the translation of foreign-language works, Shlonsky's uniqueness is evident. The characteristic Shlonskian style is recognizable from the very first lines of each work and continues to be greatly admired by writers and readers of Hebrew literature. Shlonsky translated many of the world's best known classics: William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
, Anton Chekhov
Anton Chekhov
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was a Russian physician, dramatist and author who is considered to be among the greatest writers of short stories in history. His career as a dramatist produced four classics and his best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics...
, Nikolai Gogol
Nikolai Gogol
Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol was a Ukrainian-born Russian dramatist and novelist.Considered by his contemporaries one of the preeminent figures of the natural school of Russian literary realism, later critics have found in Gogol's work a fundamentally romantic sensibility, with strains of Surrealism...
, Romain Rolland
Romain Rolland
Romain Rolland was a French dramatist, novelist, essayist, art historian and mystic who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1915.-Biography:...
, and others.
In his distinguished translation of Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
, which a score of Hebrew translators had already tackled, Shlonsky's distinctive language is again evident. He translated Shakespeare from Russian, as he was not a master of English. Yet translating at second hand did not mar the quality of his result. When Hamlet tells his mother Gertrude not to sleep with his uncle Claudius, who murdered his father, Shlonsky uses the consonance min`i dodayikh midodi: "withhold your love from my uncle", where the unusual word dodayikh (your love) evokes the Song of Solomon
Song of Solomon
The Song of Songs of Solomon, commonly referred to as Song of Songs or Song of Solomon, is a book of the Hebrew Bible—one of the megillot —found in the last section of the Tanakh, known as the Ketuvim...
. The conventional translation is al ta`ali al yetzu`ei dodi (do not go upon my uncle's couch).
Selected puns attributed
- When some firm-breasted young women passed by, he let slip, "Here's the latest, leading with the top story" (in literal translation, here's the news / new women, chief part foremost).
- On the Matate Theater: "the bit of tea (me`at ha-te) left over from the kettle" (kumkum, the name of the previous theater).
- To a lass who wanted to present him with a flower (perach): "I'll gladly accept your soft mouth (pe rakh)!" When she tried to explain that she meant -rach with a chet (the letter of the Hebrew alphabet), he replied "I'll take the sin (the word chet) upon myself!" (an allusion to Romeo and Juliet, Act I, Scene 5).
Selected coinages attributed
- derekh-agav (intentional misspelling of the original phrase, meaning 'by the way'; in Shlonsky's version, it means 'the way of longing'): flirt.
- someone who goes around with a transistor radio glued to one ear: radiot.
- being cheated on by a woman for the first time: keren hayesod. The phrase, literally "The Foundation Fund", is the Hebrew name of the United Israel AppealKeren HayesodKeren Hayesod – United Israel Appeal is the central fundraising organization for Israel, with operations in 45 countries. The work of Keren Hayesod is carried out in accordance with the Keren Hayesod Law, 5716-1956, passed by the Knesset in January 1956...
. But the word keren (fund) can also mean "horn" as in cuckoldCuckoldCuckold is a historically derogatory term for a man who has an unfaithful wife. The word, which has been in recorded use since the 13th century, derives from the cuckoo bird, some varieties of which lay their eggs in other birds' nests...
ry—or as in the horned Moses of art history. - being cheated on by a woman habitually: keren kayemet (the Jewish National FundJewish National FundThe Jewish National Fund was founded in 1901 to buy and develop land in Ottoman Palestine for Jewish settlement. The JNF is a quasi-governmental, non-profit organisation...
, where kayemet means "enduring"). - the Ararat (אררט) café in early Tel Aviv, where penniless writers gathered: It's an acronym for "Ani Rotze Rak Te (אני רוצה רק תה, I only want tea)." (Misspelled)
- the eagerness of literary folk for prizes: prize-titution (prastitutzia).
Further reading
- Shneiderman, S.L. "Yiddish in the U.S.S.R." New York Times Book Review, November 15, 1970. p. 71. Includes a report of Boris Gaponov's publication of his Hebrew version of "The Knight in the Panther's Skin", in Soviet Georgia.
- The Modern Hebrew Poem ItselfThe Modern Hebrew Poem ItselfThe Modern Hebrew Poem Itself is an anthology of modern Hebrew poetry, presented in the original language, with a transliteration into Roman script, a literal translation into English, and commentaries and explanations....
, (2003) ISBN 0-8143-2485-1
External links
- "Avraham Shlonsky", capsule biography and bibliography at Institute for Translation of Hebrew Literature
- http://www.stanford.edu/class/hebrew/books/shlon.html – a photo
See also
- List of Israel Prize recipients
- List of Bialik Prize recipientsBialik PrizeThe 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 Hayyim Nahman Bialik. There are two separate prizes, one specifically for "Literature", which is in the field of fiction,...