With an Iron Pen

Tal Nitzan has published three poetry collections, including Domestica and An Ordinary Evening. A preeminent translator of Spanish into Hebrew, she has translated over forty books and won numerous awards for her work. Rachel Tzvia Back , poet, scholar, and professor of literature, has translated many works from Hebrew, including the poetry of preeminent Hebrew poet Lea Goldberg published in Lea Goldberg: Selected Poetry and Drama. Her most recent poetry collection is On Ruins & Return. She lives in the Galilee, in the north of Israel.

"Bearing the shame, grief, anger, and hopelessness over the seemingly endless brutality and disproportionate violence of the occupation, the poems assemble a collective protest in a stylistically diverse and beautiful manner … With an Iron Pen is a culmination of the evocative works of a growing minority demanding a serious examination of the moral core of Jewish tradition. It is in these works that poetry becomes a rebellious act that asserts the right of readers and writers to question, protest and rise up." — Outlook"With an Iron Pen … contains 88 poems by 42 poets, and only one or two offerings failed to enchant … [it] comes with a thoughtful introduction, in which the editors argue that it took 20 years after the 'awful victory' of the Six Day War for such protest poetry to become an identifiable genre." — Jerusalem Report"…illuminates the diversity of Israel's literary left." — Tablet"…a significant collection of protest poetry … This collection presents poetry as prophecy, in the sense of giving voice to counter-cultural ideas and crying out against injustice … the tone of the poems vary, but they work together as a whole, calling attention to questions, pain, and injustice." — Jewish Book World"…confronts profound literary questions for political poetry … With an Iron Pen is replete with powerful works by Israel's finest poets." — Tikkun"These dissident Israeli voices, recognized and new, prophetic, raging, heartbroken, challenging, public and intimate, from the moral core of Jewish tradition, have gone almost unheard in America until now. The lyrical range is impressive, the edition scholarly; this is a historic collection." — Adrienne Rich

• Table of ContentsAcknowledgmentsPreface to the English Edition: Translating and Translocating With an Iron PenRachel Tzvia BackIntroduction: "Every Fear, Every Doubt, Every Protest"Tal NitzanI. And the Land, Will You Possess It All? In Enemy Territory / Maxim GilanCry the Beloved Country / Ramy DitzannyPalestina—Eretz Yisrael / Arik A.[Palestinian souls] / Dotan AradWe'll Build Our Homeland, for This Land Is Ours / Ramy DitzannyMice of the World, Unite! / Aharon ShabtaiThe Only Democracy (in the Middle East) / Rami SaariThe Horizon's Clenched Mouth / Liat KaplanFree Associating / Dahlia RavikovitchII. The Arrogance of Our Self-Destruction A Small Song for the Fallen / Natan ZachAsteroid / Moshe DorSonnet: Against Making Blood Speak Out / Meir Wieseltierfrom Israeli Thoughts / Asher ReichLanguage / Natan Zach[Lice have conquered you] / Tuvia RuebnerKhan Younis / Tal NitzanWoodcut of a Landscape / Dvora AmirAt the Edges of the East / Oreet MeitalThursday at Angel's Bakery / Dahlia FalahThe Night after the Surgeries / Dahlia FalahThe Tel-Aviv Subway / Meir WieseltierA Prayer to Allah Hashem God / David AvidanIII. The Fruit Dies Before the Tree [This is not what we wanted] / Tuvia RuebnerMite / Aryeh SivanTorn / Tal NitzanBallad for an Old Palestinian / Dvora AmirTo Dr. Majed Nassar / Aharon ShabtaiThe Story of the Arab Who Died in the Fire / Dahlia RavikovitchThe Observing Heart / Asher ReichKaddish / Yitzhak Laorfrom And Who Will Remember the Rememberers? / Yehuda AmichaiIV. The Hands—They Were the Hands of Soldiers Soldiers / Rami SaariToy Soldiers / Aharon ShabtaiThe Letters' Rebellion / Zvi AtzmonPoem for Muhammad / Admiel KosmanCalf / Yitzhak Laor[The platoon left] / Tsvika SzternfeldTransparent / Ronny SomeckThere Is a God / Amir OrExecution / Gilad MeiriOne Minute / Shai DotanV. And If the Dead Is a Child, Will Someone Gather Him Up? To a Pilot / Aharon ShabtaiI Protest / Aryeh SivanCoke and Jeans / Yosef Ozer[Stripes of light on the wall] / Maya BejeranoNur / Mei-Tal NadlerOctober 2000 / Oreet MeitalThe Love of Truth / Yitzhak LaorThe Man Who Apparently Caused the Death of Hilmi Shusha / Dan DaorThe Day of Blood / Sharron HassA Mother Is Walking Around / Dahlia RavikovitchLandscape with Fear in the Eye / Yitzhak LaorThe Target / Tal NitzanVI. He Who Demolishes a Person's Home Retinal Tear / Dvora AmirWritten and Signed / Aryeh SivanFifteen Minutes to Khurban Ha'Bayit / Yoram Levi PoratThe Fence / Aharon ShabtaiCurfew, Variation #5 / Diti Ronenfrom The Olive / Avner TreininThere Is No One Here / Rachel DanaFrom the Songs of Tu B'Shevat—The Festival of Tree Planting / Avner TreininOlive Tree / Agi Mishol[You've changed your name] / Gil EngelsteinVII. Sing for Us from the Songs of Zion Our Captors Required of Us a Song / Dahlia RavikovitchTo the Muses / Agi MisholSearching the Land / Rami SaariPro & Con / Meir WieseltierThe Rising Pillar of Smoke / Ramy DitzannyLullaby / Dahlia RavikovitchThat / Ronny SomeckThe Reason to Live Here / Aharon ShabtaiVIII. Things That Have No End [Oh, let the darkness cover our eyes!] / Tuvia Ruebner[The heart is parched] / Tuvia RuebnerWith the Steel Point of a Thorn / Zvi AtzmonNow Is the Time / Liat KaplanVictim Again / Tuvia RuebnerOne from Here / Salman MasalhaSong of Praise / Tamir GreenbergCall in the Snakes / Tali LatowickiOrder of the Day / Yitzhak LaorGood Intentions / Natan ZachEverything Must Go Back / Rami SaariYou and We / Meir Wieseltier(In Reply to the Question What Are You Still Doing Here) / Liat KaplanThen We Didn't Yet Know / Dahlia FalahIX. What May Yet Heal from Houses (Plural); Love (Singular) / Yehuda Amichaifrom In a Collapsing House / Maxim GilanUnder the Olive Tree / Asher ReichNotesBiographical NotesPoetsTranslatorsEditorsIndex of First LinesIndex of Poems by Poet