10245 Young Alterman: The Poet and His Work

Credits: 6 intermediate credits in Hebrew Literature

Prerequisites: none

Author: Dan Miron

This course traces the development of Natan Alterman’s creative personality during the first and decisive period in the consolidation of his poetic style (1910-1935).

Topics: Alterman’s childhood in Warsaw; The problems and strengths of the biographical-literary approach; Alterman’s youth in Palestine; Young Alterman’s stay as a student in France, poems written in Paris and in Nancy; Alterman’s affinity to the Shlonsky school of Hebrew poetry in Palestine – its sources and meanings; Alterman as a member of the Shlonsky school; Alterman’s private and public life upon his return to Palestine; Alterman’s early love songs; Alterman’s deviations from his early style lying the foundation for “Stars Outside”; Young Alterman’s writing about Tel Aviv, his newspaper poems, and “The Matate” songs.