Exploring Israeli literature in English translation. Host Marcela Sulak takes you through Israel's literary countryside, cityscapes, and psychological terrain, and the lives of the people who create it.
Latest episodes
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6 min
David Grossman's "The Desire to Be Gisella"
In his essay, "The Desire to be Gisella," Grossman ponders the root of our fear of the "other" in ourselves and in those we love, and he thinks of authorship as a mad rebellion aga…
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9 min
Dory Manor's "The Language Beneath the Skin"
This week, Marcela takes a step back from the literature itself to look at the language of the words we use. The idea of the podcast, Israel in Translation, is that the works discu…
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7 min
Jews and Words
In 2014, historian Fania Salzberger Oz, and her father, the late writer Amos Oz, paired up to write a book which is "a nonfiction, speculative, raw, and occasionally playful attemp…
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8 min
Meir Shalev's "The Blue Mountain"
Set in a rural village prior to the creation of the state of Israel, The Blue Mountain describes a community of eastern European immigrants as they pioneer life in a new land. Narr…
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8 min
The Poetry of Avot Yeshurun
On this episode, Marcela features the poems of a fascinating writer whose pen name was Avot Yeshurun. He published his first book of poems in 1942, and his last book appeared in 19…
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9 min
Ayelet Tsabari's "Savta"
Marcela shares the second installment of a three-part podcast on Ayalet Tsabari's important and beautiful memoir, The Art of Leaving. Although it was written in English, Tsabari's…
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7 min
A. B. Yehoshua's "The Lover"
On this episode, Marcela highlights The Lover, the first novel by A. B. Yehoshua, which he wrote in 1977. Yehoshua has been called the Israeli Faulkner, perhaps because of this nov…
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7 min
Meir Shalev's "Four Meals"
Meir Shalev has been featured on two previous episodes. Four Meals is his third of eight novels. He's also published 7 works of nonfiction and 13 children's books. Four Meals is th…
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6 min
Batya Gur's "Murder on a Kibbutz"
On this episode, Marcela revisits Batya Gur, who introduced the murder mystery into Hebrew literature. Gur's highbrow mysteries are often set in closed communities that mirror issu…
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8 min
Ari Shavit's "My Promised Land"
This book catapulted Ari Shavit into the international spotlight. The book was a New York Times best seller and listed by the Times in its "100 Notable Books of 2013." The Economis…
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7 min
Yaniv Iczkovits's "The Slaughterman's Daughter"
On this episode, Marcela reads an excerpt from Yaniv Iczkovits's novel The Slaughterman's Daughter: The Avenging of Mende Speismann by the Hand of her Sister Fanny. It is translate…
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12 min
Ayelet Tsabari's "Yemenite Recipes"
Today, Marcela finishes the three-part series on Ayalet Tsabari's wonderful memoir, The Art of Leaving, with her favorite thing: cooking! This episode unveils the secrets of Tsabar…
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9 min
Vaan Nguyen's Poetry Collection: "The Truffle Eye"
In her introduction to Vaan Nguyen's collection, Adriana X. Jacobs writes, "Nguyen's poetry may circulate in the Anglophone literary market as part of an increasingly visible Vietn…
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7 min
Lali Tsipi Michaeli's "The Mad House"
Have you seen the Crazy House on HaYarkon Street in Tel Aviv? It's a highrise that looks like pink cement, with some metallic puffed cream lobbed at the front of it? Or at least th…
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9 min
Yishai Sarid's "The Memory Monster"
Yishai Sarid's The Memory Monster takes the form of a report by the narrator, a young Israeli Holocaust scholar, written to his superior from the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial Muse…
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8 min
Hayim Nahman Bialik's "Random Harvest"
School has begun, and once again children are learning how to read, encountering the alphabet for the first time. Hopefully it is a pleasant and magical time, but here is a story o…
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9 min
Tehila Hakimi's "COMPANY"
As we labor under unbelievable pressures and uncertainties of the pandemic, especially women who have children at home, it might make us feel a little better to see that the writer…
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10 min
Rachel (Ra'hel) Bluwstein's "Transformation"
It's Sukkot again! Over the years in this podcast we've focused on various aspects of this holiday — inviting guests, selecting an etrog, the transitory nature of our existence on…
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9 min
Ayelet Tsabari's Memoir, "The Art of Leaving"
This week, amidst the holidays, Marcela celebrates by reading an excerpt from Ayelet Tsabari's newly published memoir, The Art of Leaving. Text: Ayelet Tsabari, The Art of Leaving.…
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10 min
Yochi Brandes' "The Orchard"
On this episode, Marcela features Yochi Brandes' ninth book, The Orchard. It is the second to be translated into English, this time by Daniel Libenson. The Orchard tells the story…