Bridging the Divide: The Selected Poems of Hava Pinhas-Cohen

by USYRC (Contributor), Sharon Hart-Green (Translation)

Raised in a Ladino-speaking family of Bulgarian Jewish immigrants, Pinhas-
Cohen fuses the ancient Sephardic chant of her childhood with the contemporary
rhythm of Israeli life. This singular talent for bridging the ancient and the
modern sets her apart from most other Hebrew poets of her generation. Secular
in style and spirit, yet rooted in the life cycle of religious Judaism, Pinhas-
Cohen's poems portray everyday life in modern Israel through a sacred yet
personal language. Awarded the coveted Prime Minister's Prize for her poetry,
Pinhas-Cohen is a poet whose verse in English translation is long overdue. This
bilingual collection offers readers a careful selection of poems from each of her
seven published volumes. Hart-Green has worked closely with the poet herself
on these translations, several of which have appeared in journals such as the
Jewish Quarterly and the Toronto Journal of Jewish Thought. Her lively translations
display the dazzling breadth and depth of Pinhas-Cohen's oeuvre, making
Bridging the Divide not only the first but the definitive English-language edition
of this vital Hebrew poet's work.

Genres: Poetry

Kindle Edition

First published June 1, 2015

Reviews

[Sue]

I have decided not to complete and review this ARC of poetry and have advised NetGalley and the publisher. It is not because I think these are in any way bad poems. More it is because I feel, culturally unequipped to truly understand many, if not most, of them. They are so rooted in Jewish culture, ceremony and life that I fear that I am missing layers of meaning and intent even in those poems that are not obviously Jewish. I hope that someone else does read this book and reviews it here and then links me to their review as I would like to know more about them.