Songs from Bialik: Selected Poems

by Hayim Nahman Bialik, Atar Hadari

Hayim Nahman Bialik (1873-1934) is considered Israel's national poet and one of the greatest Hebrew poets of all time. Several of his poems, particularly his immensely popular children's verse, were set to music and proved to be among the most popular twentieth-century Hebrew songs. An essayist, storyteller, translator, and editor, he had a unique ability to use fully the entire linguistic and conceptual inventory of the Hebrew language. Bialik's career was a turning point in Hebrew literature, bringing Biblical Hebrew into a contemporary usage and forming the basis of its renewed vigor. His legacy remains embedded in modern Hebrew literature like an immovable foundation stone. Atar Hadari's new translation of Bialik's major poetry fills a long-standing gap in English letters.

Genres: Poetry, Jewish, Israel, Judaism

168 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1999

Reviews

[Lewis Weinstein · Rating 3 out of 5]

I extracted several lines from one of Chaim Nahman Bialik's poems that beautifully express the feelings of my Polish character ...

Distant islands, lofty worlds
of our dreams,
they made us into strangers
wherever we went.
They made our lives hell.

Golden islands we thirsted for
as for a homeland,
all the stars hinted
at them
with trembling light.

And on these islands we remain
friendless, like two flowers
in a desert, two lost souls searching
for an eternal loss
in a foreign land.

[Leon Nijinsky · Rating 5 out of 5]

גרסה מצויינת של כל שיריו של ביאליק. עם רקע ביוגרפי וממצה נדיר על חייו של ביאליק וביחס לכל יצירה וההיסטוריה של התגבשותה.

הדבר היחיד שצרם לי הוא שהספר זכה בפרס שרת החינוך (שבזמן הוצאת הספר היתה לימור לבנת). בכל אופן, פוליטיקה זה פח אשפה והשאלה נשאלת האם ללא פחי אשפה היינו טובעים בזבל?

[Ramzzi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Impressive enough, even if I doubt the translation captured its esotericism and intricacies of its original language, which is Hebrew.

[behsforensics]

Cutting is for The City of Slaughter
By Chaim Nahman Bialik

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading a poet in translation is never as fulfilling as reading in the original language. Unfortunately for me, I cannot read Hebrew. He is regarded as a national poet, and his poetry certainly reflects the age in which he lived. His contribution is summed up in the introduction incredibly well and I’ll quote it here verbatim. “His poetry represents in miniature a summing up and recasting of an entire, mostly religious, literary tradition in modern secular form. It is poetry of metamorphosis, from victimization to empowerment, from traditional passive faith to skepticism and political activism, from disillusionment to new hope. Bialik was instrumental in transforming Hebrew poetry from primarily a religious mode of expression and, among a growing minority, a didactic vehicle for the Jewish Enlightenment (Haskalah) into a powerful instrument of cultural nationalism and artistic self-expression. His poetry also enacts the transition from the relatively stable and primitive rural village existence of East-European Jews to the sophistication, opportunities, and anomie of urban life.” (9)

Two poems in particular stand out for me, and they are not the poems frequently cited by others.

From the “Matmid” one can get a sense for the times he lived. It is a time attached to land and scripture, and in which there is and will be much sadness:
“Times changed,
far away I set my altar, made my home –
but I remember you still,
I will not forget
how strong the grain, how healthy the seed
buried in your soil;
how great a blessing if warmed by the sun;
how many the sheaves if one strong wind
could reach you and blow away
our twisted ‘path of Torah’,
and make a new living way to the yeshivah.
How you’ve ended—filthy, corrupt,
how sad, how very sad—
my poor people!
How dry the land, how cursed,
when such grain festers in it!” (30)

From the “Burden” you get a similar perspective, but in it you get the rallying cry of Nationalism:
“Open your mouth, prophet of doom,
if you have anything to say—speak!
If it’s bitter as death, or death itself,
Speak!
Why should we fear death—
his angel rides on our shoulder,
his bridle in our mouths.
With a cry of revival and the whoops of players
we’ll stagger into the grave.” (94)

These English poems, I’m sure, have lost some of the lyrical majesty of the original Hebrew form. That said, they are a wonderful summing up of the feeling of a people, and I would wager that none of the Romantic imagery has been lost.

[Kecia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have a lot of admiration for those who try to translate poetry. I would never dare to do it, and so it's hard to critisize this translation. The poetry in this volume comes off as OK at best. At least I feel like a got a sample taste of one of the greats.

Makes me wish I could read Hebrew.

[Elisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great translation and nice selection. It introduced me to Bialik's poem more seriously and allowed me to communicate with those Israelis who treasure Bialik's legacy.

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

The beginning of modern Hebrew literature. I loved his short stories better.

[Mary Courtley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun, quick read with interesting twists in the tale.