Hayim Nahman Bialik

This is a remarkable story, superbly told, of an orphan, who gave generations of children something to sing about; an unrequited lover, who reclaimed Hebrew as the language of love; and of a tortured, modern poet, who returned prophecy to Israel. -David G. Roskies, The Jewish Theological Seminary -- David G. Roskies Avner Holtzman guides us with authority and elegance through the major points in the life of the foremost modern Hebrew poet, and provides answers to the puzzles surrounding his poetry, personality, and the immense influence he exerted on his contemporaries and future generations. -Shachar Pinsker, author of Literary Passports: The Making of Modernism: Hebrew Fiction in Europe -- Shachar Pinsker The work of a remarkable Israeli scholar whose exquisite aesthetic sensibility combines with a positivist sense of historical accuracy and detail. -William Cutter, Professor Emeritus of Hebrew Literature, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion -- William Cutter A careful chronology of [Bialik's] turbulent life ... A clear and concise biography. -ArtsFuse ArtsFuse Well-researched. -Washington Jewish Week Washington Jewish Week No one better embodies this renaissance [of Hebrew] than H.N. Bialik (1873-1934), the poet who stood at the vanguard of the migration of Hebrew literature from mute dormancy in Eastern Europe to articulate maturity in the land of Israel. In Hayim Nahman Bialik: Poet of Hebrew, Avner Holtzman ... gives a captivating account of how Bialik's poetry was amplified by a 'rich orchestration of citations from, references to, and resonances of a wealth of Jewish sources, spanning the Hebrew Bible, the Mishnah, and the Jewish prayer book.' -Benjamin Balint, Wall Street Journal -- Benjamin Balint Wall Street Journal I thought that I knew a fair amount about the so-called 'Hebrew national poet,' but this book has enabled me to see Bialik from a whole new perspective ... If you read this biography, you will encounter a Bialik who was much more complex than the one we learned about as children, and you will meet a Bialik who left behind not only a rich legacy of writings, but an unfinished task that we are called upon to continue. -Rabbi Jack Reimer, Jewish News Service Jewish News Service