Podcasts religion Israel in Translation Without shadows, the desert flames

Without shadows, the desert flames

Published: Feb. 25, 2015, 3:46 p.m.

b'

\\n

There is a strange flavor, seasoned with pomegranates and grapes
found in the desert when, without shadows, it flames;
while rain rolls through the red dust of dirt trails,
and it is possible to taste it in Jerusalem\\u2019s hills.

\\n
\\n

These are the opening lines of an excerpt from Avraham Sutzkever\'s\\xa0Lider fun Togbukh\\xa0(Poems From a Diary, 1974-1981), read by host Marcela Sulak.

\\n

Sutzkever was born in 1913 in today\'s Belarus. He was\\xa0sent to the Vilnius Ghetto during WWII, from which he escaped and was flown to Russia. After the war he moved to Tel Aviv just before the founding of Israel.

\\n

He\\xa0died on January 20, 2010 in Tel Aviv at the age of 96 -\\xa0you can hear an unusual account of his funeral in our previous podcast. The New York Times called him "The Greatest Poet of the Holocaust."

\\n

In the background you can hear\\xa0his poem \'Unter Dayne Vayse Shtern\' - about, written, and composed in the Vilnius Ghetto - set to music by\\xa0Gideon Brettler.

\\n

\\xa0

\\n

Texts:

\\n

Avraham Sutzkever translations by Maia Evrona

\\n

A. Sutzkever. Selected Poetry and Prose. Trans. Barbara Harshav & Benjamin Harshav. University of California Press, 1991.

\\n

\\xa0

\\n

Music:

\\n

Unter Dayne Vayse Shtern - Lyrics by Avraham Sutzkever. Voice: Yeela Avital; flute: Daphna Peled; guitar and arrangement: Gideon Brettler.

\\n

Vi Azoi - Lyrics by Avraham Sutzkever. Daniel Kahn and the Painted Bird.

'