Spreading the poetic word

Annual Poetry Festival in Metulla is a tribute to poets whose work no longer attracts attention by some of today's better-known lyricists.

By BARRY DAVIS
Berry Sakharof_521 (photo credit: Mikki Alon)
Berry Sakharof_521
(photo credit: Mikki Alon)
Goethe observed that “a man should hear a little music, read a little poetry and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul.” It is a sentiment with which Rafi Weichert wholeheartedly agrees and which is reflected in the lineup of next week’s Poetry Festival (June 6-9) in Metulla, which is produced annually by the Jerusalem-based Confederation House.
Weichert is currently artistic director of the festival, which has been around since 1996.
In this age of instant remote control or mouse button- activated electronic entertainment, one could be forgiven for thinking that poetry has had its day. But, while poetry tomes do not generally sell in the millions, Weichert says the discipline is alive and kicking.
“People of all ages and walks of life come to Metulla to enjoy the festival every year. We have had events at the festival with busloads of kibbutzniks and moshavniks coming to them from all over Galilee. It’s very heartening to see [all sorts of] different people enjoying poetry.”
Next week’s festival goes under the subtitle of “Open generations, vanishing generations.”
“We will be looking at the work of the generation that came straight after the likes of Bialik and Tchernikowsky,” explains Weichert. “There’s an entire group of poets, who are no longer with us, whose works are not published, their books do not attract the critics’ attention and they are not part of the school curriculum. We decided to get some of our top poets to read some of their works at the festival, and to introduce them to members of the public who may not be aware of what they did in their lifetime.”
The “vanishing generation” includes poets Zalman Shnior, Ya’acov Steinberg, Avraham Ben-Yitzhak and Ya’acov Fichman.
Weichert will serve as emcee for the evening which also includes a performance by vocalist Yasmin Even, whose recently released Lehashim (Whispers) CD includes texts by poets Rachel Halfi and Prof. Miron Izakson.
Weichert says the festival’s aim is not just to keep the poets’ names out there but also to ensure that we all know what they did to warrant public mention.
“You know, I live in Ramat Aviv, and for many people here Fichman is just the name of a street [rather than a tribute to poet Ya’acov Fichman]. And there’s a nice little alley here named after [poet Yehuda] Karni, but who really knows who he was? I hope the program about them we have at the festival will help to shine a light on their art and bring them more into the public eye.”
Weichert has certainly called up some of the big guns of our poetry community here, with the likes of veterans Agi Mishol, Asher Reich, Rachel Halfi and Maya Bazarano, and some of the next generation, such as Nidda Khuri and Liat Kaplan, on board.
There will be a strong nod and wink toward the younger generation on the first evening of the festival (8 p.m.), when rockers Berry Sakharof and Rea Mochiah perform their Adumei Hasfatot (Red Lips) show, based on the works of Shlomo Ibn Gvirol.
The official festive opening of the festival, however, takes place on the morrow (8:30 p.m.) with the Teva Poetry Prize, which will be awarded by the pharmaceutical giant to the year’s most promising up-and-coming poet. Later on, rock musicians Eran Tzur and Corinne Alal will provide musical entertainment with a program of songs that feed off the works of writers such as Yona Wollach, Avot Yeshurun and Avraham Shlonsky.
Weichert is upbeat about the health of poetry across the country, and that’s not just wishful thinking. He says he experiences enthusiasm for the discipline all over the place.
“The youngest poetry-reading public I encounter are youth in grades 8 and 9, and the oldest are people aged 90 and over, when I give lectures at Beit Yad Lebanim in Ra’anana. And you find poetry fans all over the country. Last week we did a reading at Kibbutz Sde Boker, and [this] happens in different places in the periphery [all] the time.
“Even in this age of electronic communication, the Internet and Facebook, you still get lots of young people writing poetry and who want to meet to exchange ideas.
“[Poet] Roni Somek runs a workshop for youth in Dimona, and there was a workshop at Beit Ariella [in Tel Aviv] for years. People would come from all over the city, [people] of all ages, to listen.
“I took part in an event based on the works of Yehuda Amichai once in Afula. I thought, Who’s going to come to a poetry evening in Afula? There were loads of people there, including new olim. I go to places all over the country where, amazingly, people come to hear a poetry reading rather than staying at home to watch the news or a soccer match with Barcelona on TV.”
Weichert feels that, while the grassroots interest is strong, the media could do more to further the cause.
“There used to be much newspaper space devoted to poems and critiques. I used to write for Yediot Aharonot. There is very little of that now,” he says.
Then again, there is always the electronic media stage.
“I write a weekly column on poetry for Ynet,” he says, “and there’s poetry on NRG. And there are all sorts of official, quasi-underground or underground websites with poetry. In that respect things aren’t too bad.”
And it might be nice if more of us splurged on a printed edition of poetry once in a while.
“I always say that if every Israel bought a book of poetry once a month, we [poets] would all be living in three-story villas. People need to realize that buying a book of poetry or going to a festival like the one in Metulla gives the poets a tremendous morale boost. The public needs to realize the importance of its support. If a publisher sees that only 50 people by a book of poetry, there won’t be any more editions of it; but if 500 buy it, there will be reprints. Then all the classics will find their way back to the bookstore shelves.”
Weichert says he is happy to step outside the strict confines of poetry readings and discourse to bring in the crowds.
“That’s why we brought musicians like Berry Sakharof and Corinne Alal to the festival. Sakharof has his Ibn Gvirol project. That’s taking works from 1,000 years back and bringing them into the here and now. That’s the power of poetry.”
For tickets: (04) 841-8411, (04) 838-4777 or www.garber-tickets.co.il. For more information about the Poetry Festival: www.confederationhouse.org.il or (04) 695-0778.