Nurit Zarchi wins Israel Prize in Literature and Poetry

Zarchi has written more than 100 books in a variety of fields, including poetry, fiction novels and children literature, as well as essays and articles.

Israel Prize winner Nurit Zarchi.  (photo credit: Courtesy)
Israel Prize winner Nurit Zarchi.
(photo credit: Courtesy)
Nurit Zarchi, a well-known poet and author of books for both children and adults, was announced Monday as the winner of the Israel Prize in the field of literature and poetry, according to a press release from the Education Ministry.
The choice of Zarchi came following an announcement by Education Minister Yoav Gallant earlier in the day. The committee for deciding Israel Prize winners noted in a statement on Zarchi's accomplishments that "The poet and author Nurit Zarchi is a rare and wonderful voice in Hebrew literature. The main test of excellent literature is its uniqueness and personal stamp, i.e., the feeling that the creator establishes their own speech, with special characteristics and language."
Zarchi has written more than 100 books in a variety of fields, including poetry, novels and children's literature, as well as essays and articles. The committee further added that "her writing is groundbreaking, personal and dialogical, metaphysical and concrete, Jewish and universal, and reaches the most intimate places in the human psyche."
"Pain appears without bitterness, power erupts without violence, magic rarely captures the creative and existential wonder [of her writing]. Dominant, independent and original in contemporary Hebrew literature, [Zarchi] receiving the award can be justified on every scale for this talented artist."