When she arrived in Palestine in 1935 at the age of twenty-four, Leah Goldberg was already known as a significant emerging poet in contemporary Hebrew literature. Today, mention of her name is apt to evoke a nostalgic sigh among Israelis who have grown up hearing her poems read, quoted, recollected, and—having been set to some four hundred melodies—sung on the radio. In the wake of overwhelming new attention on Goldberg's work in Israel, With This Night makes available for the first time in English the final collection of poetry that Goldberg published during her lifetime.
Leah Goldberg (Hebrew: לאה גולדברג), also published as Lea Goldberg, was born in Konigsberg, East Prussia (now Kaliningrad, Russia), and started writing Hebrew verse as a schoolgirl in Kovno. She received a Ph.D in semitic languages from Bonn University, and immigrated to pre-state Israel in 1935. Goldberg was a renowned poet -a member of the Shlonsky group - as well as a successful children-s author, theater critic, translator, and editor. In 1952, she established the Department of Comparative Literature at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and remained its chairperson until her death. Goldberg published nine books of poetry, two novels, three plays, six books of non-fiction, and 20 books for children. Goldberg was awarded many prizes, including the Israel Prize for Literature in 1970.