"Amichai's ability to write fluently and simply on many levels seems so natural, one can't imagine him ever having to blot a line. This book-length autobiographical poem is not an ongoing narrative but a series of linked meditations on the relationship between the life of the poet and the life of the state of Israel, beginning with his arrival there from Germany as a small boy, through the wars he has witnessed, and celebrating in particular his marriage and the birth of his son. The sections weave memory with history, and speculate on the meaning of history together with that of any single life."—Publishers Weekly
"One of our great poets. . . Once one has heard his quiet, even tones, precise, distanced and passionate, one never forgets them."—Times Literary Supplement
About the Author
Yehuda Amichai (1924-2000) was an Israeli poet. Amichai is considered by many, both in Israel and internationally, as Israel's greatest modern poet. He was also one of the first to write in colloquial Hebrew.
December 1986