Podcasts religion Israel in Translation A Tel Aviv beach in winter

A Tel Aviv beach in winter

Published: Feb. 11, 2015, 4:27 p.m.

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You\\u2019ve still got time to visit a Tel Aviv beach this winter. To get you in the mood, host Marcela Sulak reads Rachel Chalifi\'s poem \'Tel Aviv Beach Winter \'74,\'\\xa0translated by Alexandra Meiri. Here\'s an excerpt:

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The sun is a faded photo.
Shore birds peck greyly at the sand.
The muscles of the sea groan.
A solitary woman in a nylon
scarf. What is she,
against a thunderstorm?

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Chalfi\\xa0was born in Tel Aviv, the daughter of two poets.\\xa0She studied in Jerusalem, then Berkeley, and finally\\xa0Los Angeles, before returning to Tel Aviv where she\\xa0married a writer - ending as she began. To date, Chalfi has published 15 books of poetry and a collection of short stories. She has won the Prime Minister\'s Prize, the Bialik Prize, and the prestigious Brenner prize, amongst others.

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Marcela ends by reading \'A Witch Practically,\' in which Chalifi explains why\\xa0being a "witch" is a little more mundane than you might think.

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Text:

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Kaleidoscope: Three Poets from Israel. Mosaic Press, 2014.

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Music:

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\'Stairs of the Unknown.\' Composed by\\xa0Eitan Steinberg, sung by\\xa0Etty BenZaken, inspired by and with text from three poems by Raquel Chalfi.

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