Loading AI tools
Israeli poet (1934–1995) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
David Avidan (Hebrew: דוד אבידן) (February 21, 1934 – May 11, 1995) was an Israeli "poet, painter, filmmaker, publicist, and playwright" (as he often put it). He wrote 20 published books of Hebrew poetry.
David Avidan | |
|---|---|
| דוד אבידן | |
"David Avidan", painting by Yael-Shahar Sarid, 1994 | |
| Born | February 21, 1934 Tel Aviv, Israel |
| Died | May 11, 1995 (aged 61) Tel Aviv, Israel |
| Alma mater | Hebrew University of Jerusalem |
| Occupation(s) | Poet, painter, filmmaker, publicist, and playwright |
| Awards | 1993 Bialik Prize for Hebrew literature |
He was born in Tel Aviv, Israel, and studied Literature and Philosophy while briefly studying at Hebrew University. He wrote mostly in Hebrew, and was an avant-garde artist throughout his life. He translated many of his own poems into English, and received several awards both as a poet and as a translator.
He was not popular with most critics or the general public throughout his life, often criticized as being egocentric, chauvinistic, and technocratic. His first book, Lipless Faucets (1954), was attacked by nearly all poetry critics; the first favorable review was by Gabriel Moked, editor of the literary quarterly Akhshav, who later became one of Avidan's closest friends.
By the early 1990s he could scarcely make a living, and his mental condition had deteriorated. Avidan died in Tel Aviv, the city which had played a central role in his life, and was, in many ways, the center of his creation.
Avidan died on May 11, 1995, in his Tel Aviv apartment at the age of 61.[1] Since his death, Avidan's reputation has been on the rise both in literary circles and in the popular imagination, positioning him as one of the core poets of the Israeli canon. A volume of Selected Poems by Avidan, "Futureman," translated by Tsipi Keller, has been published by Phoneme Media in 2017.
In 1993, Avidan was the co-recipient (jointly with Amalia Kahana-Carmon) of the Bialik Prize for Hebrew literature.[2]
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.
