Yaakov Shabtai
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Yaakov Shabtai (1934 – 1981) (Hebrew: יעקב שבתאי) was an Israeli novelist, playwright and translator, born in Tel Aviv.
His best known work is Zikhron Devarim (1977), published in English in 1985 as Past Continuous. Written as a single paragraph, it was the first novel ever to be written in truly vernacular Hebrew. In its English translation the novel received international acclaim as a unique work of modernism, prompting critic Gabriel Josipovici of The Independent to name it the greatest novel of the decade, comparing it to Proust's In Search of Lost Time.
In Israel, Shabtai is also known as a playwright, having written such classics of the Israeli stage as Crowned Head and The Spotted Tiger. He also translated many plays into Hebrew, including works by Harold Pinter, Neil Simon, Noel Coward and Eugene O'Neill. Other works by Shabtai include Uncle Peretz Takes Off, a collection of short stories, and Past Perfect (Sof Davar), a continuation of Past Continuous in terms of narrative and style, published posthumously. In 2006 a collection of early stories was published under the title A Circus in Tel Aviv.
Shabtai died of a heart attack in 1981, and was posthumously awarded the Agnon Prize for literature. In 1999, the Tel Aviv Municipality named a street after him.
Shabtai's brother Aharon is a well-known erotic poet.
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[edit] Bibliography
[edit] Works Translated into English
- Past Continuous (Zikhron Devarim, He: זכרון דברים) Jewish Publication Society of America, 1985, ISBN 0827602391
- Past Perfect (Sof Davar, He: סוף דבר) Viking Press, 1987, ISBN 0670813087
- Uncle Peretz Takes Off (Ha-Dod Peretz Mamree, He: הדוד פרץ ממריא) Overlook, 2004, ISBN 1585673404
[edit] Other Works
- The Wondrous Journey of the Toad (Ha-Masah Ha-Muflah Shel Ha-Karpad, He: המסע המופלא של הקרפד; Children's book), 1964.
- Poems and Ballads (Shirei Ha-Zemer), 1992.
- The Spotted Tiger and Other Plays (Namer Havarburot Ve-Aherim), 1995.
- Crowned Head and Other Plays (Keter Ba-Rosh Ve-Aherim), 1995.
- A Circus in Tel Aviv (Kirkas be-Tel Aviv, short stories), 2006.
[edit] External links
- Yaakov Shabtai at the Institute for the Translation of Hebrew Literature
