Open Closed Open

In poems marked by tenderness and mischief, humanity and humor, Yehuda Amichai breaks open the grand diction of revered Jewish verses and casts the light of his own experishy;ence upon them. Here he tells of history, a nation, the self, love, and resurrection. Amichai's last volume is one of medishy;tation and hope, and stands as a testament to one of Israel's greatest poets. Open closed open. Before we are born, everything is open in the universe without us. For as long as we live, everything is closed within us. And when we die, everything is open again. Open closed open. That's all we are. from"I WASN'T ONE OF THE SIX MILLION: AND WHAT IS MY LIFE SPAN? OPEN CLOSED OPEN"

YEHUDA AMICHAI (1924–2000) has long been considered one of the great poets of the twentieth century. He was the recipient of numerous awards, including the Israel Prize, his country’s highest honor. His work has been translated into more than thirty-seven languages.
CHANA BLOCH, author of three books of poems, is co-
translator of the Song of Songs and books by Amichai and Dahlia Ravikovitch. She lives in California.
CHANA KRONFELD is professor of Hebrew, Yiddish, and comparative literature at the University of California, Berkeley. She lives in California.
 
Winner of the PEN Award for Poetry in Translation