Janice Rebibo
Encyclopedia
Janice Silverman Rebibo (born 1950) is a Boston-born Israel
i poet
who began writing in Hebrew
in the mid-1980s.
Janice Silverman Rebibo’s poems have been admired for having, “a new strength and the kind of courage that comprises a strategic breakthrough, a stance of both audacity and humor that adds something new to the war of independence of Israel’s consciousness – a revolution of language, spirit and mind.” (critic Menahem Ben
). Rebibo is an Israeli poet born in Boston
, who began writing in Hebrew while studying Hebrew language and literature at Hebrew College
. Dozens of her poems have appeared in Israel’s major newspapers and journals. Recently, an anthology of Israeli writers of English included several of Rebibo's poems and the journal, Iton 77
, featured her Hebrew poem, Etzb’a Elohim (God’s finger). The first of her four poetry collections, Zara (a stranger-woman, referring to the figure in Proverbs), was published in 1997. She later served as chief translator for Natan Yonatan
, completing Within the Song to Live, his bilingual volume of selected work, following that popular poet’s death in 2004. Zara Betzion: shirim 1984-2006 (a stranger-woman in Zion), a blend of two literary traditions, is Rebibo’s latest collection, which received a President of Israel Award and other prizes. Her poems have been set to music by multi-hit composer, Gidi Koren
. In addition to the English libretto for composer Matti Kovler
's The Escape of Jonah, Rebibo also collaborated with Kovler to write the libretto for Here Comes Messiah!, performed at Carnegie Hall in 2009 and at Boston’s Jordan Hall in 2010.
s, humor and eroticism
, much of Rebibo's poetry shows how relationships are shaped by language, culture, religion, and politics. Her first Hebrew poems appeared in 1984 in the literary supplement of the Hebrew language newspaper Davar
on the recommendation of Israeli poet Haim Gouri
. Since then, Rebibo’s poems and short stories have appeared frequently in Israel's literary pages and journals and four books of her Hebrew poetry have been published and characterized in the press as a bold blend of two rich poetic traditions. Zara in Zion: Collected Poems 1984-2006 by Janice Rebibo, published in 2007, includes Hebrew poetry from her three earlier books and new work previously published in Israel's literary journals, as well as a chapter entitled Zion by Itself containing poems Rebibo has written in English.
Rebibo has translated Hebrew poetry into English, notably for poet Natan Yonatan
. Her poems have been set to music and recorded. Hazman Ozel (time is running out), music by Gidi Koren
, was released in 2009 by NMC on a live performance DVD by The Brothers and The Sisters. She has also collaborated with composers on texts and librettos. Here Comes Messiah!, a monodrama for soprano and chamber orchestra by Matti Kovler
, libretto by Janice Silverman Rebibo and Matti Kovler, was premiered at Carnegie Hall with soprano, Tehila Nini Goldstein, on May 9, 2009 at the Osvaldo Golijov
and Dawn Upshaw
Young Artists Concert. Rebibo has edited and translated prose for novelist, Yizhar Smilansky (S. Yizhar
), Toronto filmmaker Avi Lev, Prof. Moshe Bar-Asher
at the Academy of the Hebrew Language
, and for other leading Israelis in literary criticism
, linguistics
, business, and technology.
In addition to her literary work, Janice Rebibo directed an innovative school-pairing program to promote tolerance
, friendship, and cooperation in Israeli society and serves as SPO at a non-profit for the advancement of Hebrew language teaching and learning in North America.
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
who began writing in 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...
in the mid-1980s.
Janice Silverman Rebibo’s poems have been admired for having, “a new strength and the kind of courage that comprises a strategic breakthrough, a stance of both audacity and humor that adds something new to the war of independence of Israel’s consciousness – a revolution of language, spirit and mind.” (critic Menahem Ben
Menahem Ben
Menahem Ben is an Israeli poet and journalist and an outspoken literary and culture critic. He is a frequent op-ed contributor and authors two weekly columns, on culture and literature, in the Maariv daily newspaper, as well as a monthly book review page in that paper's literary...
). Rebibo is an Israeli poet born in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, who began writing in Hebrew while studying Hebrew language and literature at Hebrew College
Hebrew College
Hebrew College is an accredited college of Jewish studies in Newton Centre, near Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1921, Hebrew College is committed to Jewish scholarship in a transdenominational academic environment. The president of the college is Rabbi Daniel Lehmann...
. Dozens of her poems have appeared in Israel’s major newspapers and journals. Recently, an anthology of Israeli writers of English included several of Rebibo's poems and the journal, Iton 77
Iton 77
Iton 77 is an Israeli monthly of literature and culture. Founded by the poet and editor Yaakov Besser in 1977. Iton 77 is among the oldest literary magazines in Israel and has been published regularly for 30 years, which is almost unprecedented in Israeli publishing. The magazine also owns a small...
, featured her Hebrew poem, Etzb’a Elohim (God’s finger). The first of her four poetry collections, Zara (a stranger-woman, referring to the figure in Proverbs), was published in 1997. She later served as chief translator for Natan Yonatan
Natan Yonatan
Natan Yonatan was an Israeli poet.His poems have been translated from Hebrew and published in more than a dozen languages, among them: Arabic, Bulgarian, Chinese, Dutch, English, French, German, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Vietnamese, and Yiddish....
, completing Within the Song to Live, his bilingual volume of selected work, following that popular poet’s death in 2004. Zara Betzion: shirim 1984-2006 (a stranger-woman in Zion), a blend of two literary traditions, is Rebibo’s latest collection, which received a President of Israel Award and other prizes. Her poems have been set to music by multi-hit composer, Gidi Koren
Gideon Koren
Gideon Koren M.D., FACMT, FRCP is a Canadian pediatrician, clinical pharmacologist, and toxicologist. Dr. Koren is also a noted composer of Israeli popular music.-Professional contributions:...
. In addition to the English libretto for composer Matti Kovler
Matti Kovler
Matti Kovler is a Russian born Israeli composer whose music has been performed in Israel, Europe and the United States by the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, the Metropole Orchestra , Fox Studio’s Symphony Orchestra, the Ariel String Quartet , the Dinosaur Annex New Music Ensemble and...
's The Escape of Jonah, Rebibo also collaborated with Kovler to write the libretto for Here Comes Messiah!, performed at Carnegie Hall in 2009 and at Boston’s Jordan Hall in 2010.
Works
Using allusionAllusion
An allusion is a figure of speech that makes a reference to, or representation of, people, places, events, literary work, myths, or works of art, either directly or by implication. M. H...
s, humor and eroticism
Eroticism
Eroticism is generally understood to refer to a state of sexual arousal or anticipation of such – an insistent sexual impulse, desire, or pattern of thoughts, as well as a philosophical contemplation concerning the aesthetics of sexual desire, sensuality and romantic love...
, much of Rebibo's poetry shows how relationships are shaped by language, culture, religion, and politics. Her first Hebrew poems appeared in 1984 in the literary supplement of the Hebrew language newspaper Davar
Davar
Davar was a Hebrew-language daily newspaper published in the Mandate Palestine and Israel between 1925 and May 1996.-History:Davar was established by Moshe Beilinson and Berl Katznelson, with Katznelson as its first editor. The first edition was published on 1 June 1925 under the name Davar - Iton...
on the recommendation of Israeli poet Haim Gouri
Haim Gouri
Haim Gouri is an Israeli poet, novelist, journalist, and documentary filmmaker.-Biography:Haim Gouri was born in Tel Aviv. After studying at the Kadoorie Agricultural High School, he joined the Palmach militia. In 1947 he was sent to Hungary to assist Holocaust survivors to come to Palestine...
. Since then, Rebibo’s poems and short stories have appeared frequently in Israel's literary pages and journals and four books of her Hebrew poetry have been published and characterized in the press as a bold blend of two rich poetic traditions. Zara in Zion: Collected Poems 1984-2006 by Janice Rebibo, published in 2007, includes Hebrew poetry from her three earlier books and new work previously published in Israel's literary journals, as well as a chapter entitled Zion by Itself containing poems Rebibo has written in English.
Rebibo has translated Hebrew poetry into English, notably for poet Natan Yonatan
Natan Yonatan
Natan Yonatan was an Israeli poet.His poems have been translated from Hebrew and published in more than a dozen languages, among them: Arabic, Bulgarian, Chinese, Dutch, English, French, German, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Vietnamese, and Yiddish....
. Her poems have been set to music and recorded. Hazman Ozel (time is running out), music by Gidi Koren
Gideon Koren
Gideon Koren M.D., FACMT, FRCP is a Canadian pediatrician, clinical pharmacologist, and toxicologist. Dr. Koren is also a noted composer of Israeli popular music.-Professional contributions:...
, was released in 2009 by NMC on a live performance DVD by The Brothers and The Sisters. She has also collaborated with composers on texts and librettos. Here Comes Messiah!, a monodrama for soprano and chamber orchestra by Matti Kovler
Matti Kovler
Matti Kovler is a Russian born Israeli composer whose music has been performed in Israel, Europe and the United States by the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, the Metropole Orchestra , Fox Studio’s Symphony Orchestra, the Ariel String Quartet , the Dinosaur Annex New Music Ensemble and...
, libretto by Janice Silverman Rebibo and Matti Kovler, was premiered at Carnegie Hall with soprano, Tehila Nini Goldstein, on May 9, 2009 at the Osvaldo Golijov
Osvaldo Golijov
Osvaldo Noé Golijov is a Grammy award–winning composer of classical music.-Biography:Osvaldo Golijov was born in and grew up in La Plata, Argentina, in a Jewish family that had emigrated to Argentina in the 1920s from Romania and Russia.Golijov has developed a rich musical language, the result of...
and Dawn Upshaw
Dawn Upshaw
Dawn Upshaw is an American soprano described as "one of the most consequential performers of our time" by the Los Angeles Times. The recipient of several Grammy Awards and Edison Prize-winning discs, Upshaw is at home both in opera and art song, and in repertoire from Baroque to contemporary...
Young Artists Concert. Rebibo has edited and translated prose for novelist, Yizhar Smilansky (S. Yizhar
S. Yizhar
Yizhar Smilansky , better known by his pen name S. Yizhar , was an Israeli writer and a great innovator in modern Hebrew literature.His pen name was given to him by the poet and editor Yitzhak Lamdan, when in 1938 he published Yizhar's first story Ephraim Goes Back to Alfalfa in his literary...
), Toronto filmmaker Avi Lev, Prof. Moshe Bar-Asher
Moshe Bar-Asher
Moshe Bar-Asher is an Israeli linguist and the president of the Academy of the Hebrew Language in Jerusalem.-Background:Bar-Asher was born in Ksar es Souk , Morocco, in 1939. He immigrated to Israel in 1951 when he was twelve years old....
at the Academy of the Hebrew Language
Academy of the Hebrew Language
The Academy of the Hebrew Language was established by the Israeli government in 1953 as the "supreme institution for scholarship on the Hebrew language."-History:...
, and for other leading Israelis in literary criticism
Literary criticism
Literary criticism is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often informed by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of its methods and goals...
, linguistics
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
, business, and technology.
In addition to her literary work, Janice Rebibo directed an innovative school-pairing program to promote tolerance
Toleration
Toleration is "the practice of deliberately allowing or permitting a thing of which one disapproves. One can meaningfully speak of tolerating, ie of allowing or permitting, only if one is in a position to disallow”. It has also been defined as "to bear or endure" or "to nourish, sustain or preserve"...
, friendship, and cooperation in Israeli society and serves as SPO at a non-profit for the advancement of Hebrew language teaching and learning in North America.
Prizes and Awards
Zara Betzion ("A Stranger in Zion") by Janice Rebibo received awards from the Office of the President of Israel and the Mifal HaPais Cultural Committee, as well as Hebrew College's Steiner Prize in Hebrew Literature, one of several academic and literary prizes awarded to Rebibo over her many years of association with that College.External links
- Open Library - Hebrew books by Janice Rebibo Listing including translations to English
- "Janice ג'ניס" - English and Hebrew poetry and events blog
- Janice Rebibo in Ohio State University's Modern Hebrew Literature Lexicon
- Rebibo's Jerusalem Post piece dedicated to Natan Yonatan on the first anniversary of his passing
- Zara Betzion booklaunch, Tel Aviv, Dec. 1, 2007.
- Hebrew poems by Janice Rebibo on the web.