Ronny Someck
(Iraq, 1951)   
 
 
 
Ronny Someck

Ronny Someck’s poetry, which has both a local and a universal flavor, has the ability to affect readers from all over the world. Ronny Someck was born in Baghdad in 1951 and immigrated to Israel with his family as a child. He has a BA in Hebrew Literature and Jewish Philosophy, has worked as a counselor for street children, and currently teaches literature in a secondary school as well as running writing workshops. His poetry deals with the most basic elements of daily life in an original and convincing way.

Someck brings his readers into situations where his own memories and personality are combined with the everyday reality of people with whom he works, people whose daily sorrows and happiness and whose inner worlds have deeply affected him. His is a humanistic view of the world and this element of humanity universalizes Someck’s poetry, allowing for the relative ease of its translation into other languages.


Ronny Someck is considered one of Israel’s most popular poets; for his eight collections of poetry he has twice received the Prime Minister’s Prize, in 1989 and in 2000; in 1999 he won both the Efrat Prize and that of Ahi (The Association for the Promotion of Research, Literature and Art, founded in Israel by Jews from Iraq). In 1987, Someck received the Jubilee Prize awarded by ACUM (the Society of Authors, Composers and Music Publishers in Israel) for special achievement. Someck participates in many festivals and other poetry events and he often cooperates with musicians and other artists. His poetry has been translated into 22 languages so far and it has been widely published both in Israel and abroad.

© Rami Saari

Also on this site
Combining East and West: Gabrielle David introduces Ronny Someck and his poetry
Foreign work and foreign workers: PIW editor Rami Saari on Ronny Someck’s ‘Arabic Work’


Bibliography
In Hebrew
Maxteret he-xalav(The Milk Underground), Zmora Bitan, 2005
Ha-metofef shel ha-mahpekha (The Revolution Drummer), Zmora Bitan, 2001
Gan ‛eden le-orez(Rice Paradise), Zmora Bitan, 1996
Bloody Mary(Bloody Mary), Zmora Bitan, 1994
Bardlas(Panther), Zmora Bitan, 1989
Sheva‛ shurot ‛al pele ha-Yarqon(Seven Lines on the Wonder of the Yarkon), Opatowsky/Tel Aviv Foundation , 1987
Asfalt(Asphalt), Massada, 1984
Solo(Solo), Massada, 1980
Gole (Exile), Massada, 1976

In Albanian
Shenja e kafshimit, Dudaj, 2001

In Arabic
The poem is a gangster’s girlFaridis, Paris, 1996
Yasmin(Jasmine), Ministry of Science and the Arts, Jerusalem, 1994

In Catalan
En paper de vidre, Barcelona, 2000

In English
The Fire Stays in Red, University of Wisconsin & Dryad Press, Madison, 2002
Selected Poems,Cabri-Print Workshop, Kibbutz Cabri, 1997

In French
Nés à Bagdad, with A. K. El Janabi, Stravit, Paris, 1998

In German
Selected Poems, Jüdisches Museum Wien, Vienna, 1997

In Italian
Il Rosso catalogo della parola tramonto, Il Laboratorio, Napoli, 2001

In Macedonian
Žito, Blesok, Skopje, 2003


Individual poems by Ronny Someck have been published in Albanian, Arabic, Catalan, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, French, Georgian, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Serbo-Croat, Spanish and Ukrainian.


Links
In Catalan
Israel Sheli
Biographic note and links

In English
Modern Hebrew Literature - a Bio-Bibliographical Lexicon
A page in Hebrew and English dedicated to Ronny Someck and his publications

National Foundation for Jewish Culture
A story and two poems

Israel Center
Biography and three poems

Hebrew at Stanford
Biography and links to texts

Blesok
Biographic note

In French
Ronny Someck
Biographic note in English, links to 6 Someck poems in French and 3 in Romanian translation

In Hebrew
Shireshet
A photo and links to 25 poems

Wikipedia
Biography and list of publication

Modern Hebrew Literature - a Bio-Bibliographical Lexicon
A page in Hebrew and English dedicated to Ronny Someck and his publications

Vradim Ve-avaq
A page on the web site of the writer Alex Epstein, dedicated to Ronny Someck

An article by Uri Hollander on Someck’s book The Milk Undergroundwww.haaretz.co.il/hasite/pages/ShArtPE.jhtml?itemNo=609979
Biography

Sofer
Biography

Dag anonimi
An article by Elad Yaacobi on Someck’s book The Drummer of the Revolution

Shirim shel Ronny Someck
Links to more than 40 poems by Someck

Nana – mixer
An interview with Someck

In Italian
Il laboratorio
Biography and a short article about Someck’s poetry

Interromania
Biography, 9 poems translated by Sarah Kaminski and 2 poems translated by Jack Arbib

In Macedonian
Ronny Someck: Žito
Biography

In Russian
Ronny Someck
Biography and 3 poems

In Serbo-Croat
Yurope
A story and a poem translated by David Albahari

In Spanish
Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs
A poem by Someck and a short biographical note

Ronny Someck on Lyrikline

 




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