World Literary Awards

← Back to Home

Nathan Alterman

ネイサン・アルテルマン

Neisan Aruteruman

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1910-08-14 （Warsaw, Congress Poland (then Russian Empire)）
Died
1970-03-28 （Tel Aviv, Israel） age 59
Nationality
Israeli
Languages
Russian, Hebrew, German, French, English, Polish
Religion
Judaism
Residence History
Warsaw (birth) → Tel Aviv (moved to and later lived) → Paris / Nancy (studies, France)

Career

Occupations
poet, translator, playwright, journalist
Active Years
1931-1970
Influenced By
Avraham Shlonsky, French poets and writers encountered during his studies
Influenced
Generations of Israeli poets, Tirtza Atar (his daughter)

Education

Herzliya Hebrew High School
Period: 1925-1929
Country: British Mandate Palestine (then)
Secondary education after family moved to Tel Aviv
University of Paris (Sorbonne)
General studies / literature (attended)
Period: 1929-1930
Country: France
Attended one year before moving to Nancy
Nancy (studies in agronomy)
Agronomy
Period: 1930-1932
Country: France
Studied agronomy; influenced by encounters with French artists and writers

Awards

Tchernichovsky Prize (for exemplary translation)
1946
Work: Translations of Racine's Phèdre and Shakespeare's Merry Wives of Windsor
Category: 翻訳
Organization: Tchernichovsky Prize awarding body
Result: 受賞
Ruppin Prize
1947
Work: Joy of the Poor
Category: 文学
Organization: Ruppin-related organization
Result: 受賞
Bialik Prize
1957
Category: 文学
Organization: Tel Aviv Municipality (Bialik Prize)
Result: 受賞
Tchernichovsky Prize (for translation)
1967
Work: Translations of the plays of Molière
Category: 翻訳
Organization: Tchernichovsky Prize awarding body
Result: 受賞
Israel Prize (for literature)
1968
Category: 文学
Organization: State of Israel
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Stars Outside (Kokhavim Bakhuts)

1938 Poetry (neo-romantic elements)

Alterman's first major poetry collection, featuring neo-romantic themes and metrical virtuosity.

solitudenaturefantasy

Joy of the Poor (Simḥat Aniyim)

1941 Poetry (cycle)

A kaleidoscopic sequence of 31 interconnected poems narrated by the ghost of a dead man obsessed with a living woman.

lovedeathfantasysocial critique

The Silver Platter (Magash Ha-Kesef)

1948 Poem (patriotic)

Written during the 1948 war, the poem symbolically depicts the founding of the state and the sacrifice of young people; it became a canonical text read on Israel's Remembrance Day.

statehoodsacrificememory
Adaptations
  • [music] Setting to music of poems such as 'One from the GHL' / Shem Tov Levy (作曲家としての編曲/作曲者関与) (1985)
Translations
  • English translations exist (several)

Bibliography

  • Stars Outside (Kokhavim Bakhutz) - 1938
  • Joy of the Poor (Simḥat Aniyim) - 1941
  • Plague Poems (Shirei Makot Mitzrayim) - 1944
  • The Seventh Column (Ha-Tur Ha-Shvi'i) - 1948, 1954
  • The Silver Platter: Selected Poems - 1974
  • The Alterman Notebooks (various volumes) - 1977-1986

Adaptations

  • Many poems were set to music and performed by artists such as Arik Einstein
  • The poem 'First Smile' features in the TV series Shtisel (Season 3, episode title and memorial scene)

Translations by Author

  • Translation of Racine's Phèdre
  • Translation of Shakespeare's Merry Wives of Windsor
  • Translations of plays by Molière

Translations of Works

  • First Smile — English translation by Robert Friend (included in Found in Translation, 2006)
  • Multiple English, French and German translations of major poems exist

Style & Themes

Literary Style
metrical virtuosity and formal craftsmanshipsatirical, essayistic poetry
Recurring Motifs
statehood and sacrificememory and commemorationfantasy and lovesocial critique

Legacy

Nathan Alterman is one of the leading figures of modern Hebrew poetry; through his poems, translations and political commentary he greatly influenced Israeli culture. His portrait has appeared on Israel's 200-shekel banknote since 2016, cementing his place in public memory.

Academic Societies

  • Yachdav literary circle

Archives

  • Alterman papers (Mosad Alterman / archives held with Tel Aviv University and related institutions)

In Popular Culture

  • Musical settings of poems and references in TV drama (e.g., Shtisel)

Quotes

  • 'The Silver Platter' — an image of youths who say the state was not handed to us on a silver platter.
    Source: Poem 'Magash Ha-Kesef' (The Silver Platter) (1948)

Trivia

  • Since 2016, Alterman's portrait appears on Israel's 200-shekel banknote.
  • Several of his poems were set to music and performed by artists such as Arik Einstein.
  • His daughter Tirtza Atar also became a poet.