“A Very Cheerful Girl”

Hedva Harechavi is an early feminist voice in contemporary Hebrew poetry, and, as you will hear, her work often combines the language of prayer and biblical texts with contemporary daily realities.

Her first book, Because He Is King, won the Rachel Newman Poetry Award and established her as a poet. Harechavi's eight subsequent poetry collections have won all the major Israeli prizes.

She was born on the kibbutz Degania, and lives in Jerusalem.

Text:

Hedva Harechavi, “A Very Cheerful Girl” translated by Tsipi Keller in Poets on the Edge. An Anthology of Contemporary Hebrew Poetry, SUNY 2008.

Hedva Harechavi, “All of Reality to Me” translated by Tsipi Keller, Asymptote Journal