It?s not by chance that so many volumes of poetry are published; there is a big following for poets in Israel, says Itámár Jáoz-Keszt, a Hungarian-born Israeli poet and translator who has served as the ?ambassador? for Hungarian poetry in the country.
Israelis purchase more books per capita than citizens of any other country in the world but Iceland, according to data from UNESCO.
Israelis are at the forefront in terms of the amount of literature they read, Amos Oz, one of the country?s most famous authors, said in a recently published interview. Hebrew is a learned language for about half of Israel?s 7 million citizens, but it creates a common identity for people who have come from different cultures and different parts of the world, he added.
Oz will be presented with the Budapest Grand Prize at this year?s book festival.
The Hungarian literary historian Szilvia Peremiczky said the Nobel laureate writer Shmuel Yosef Agnon and Joseph Haim Brenner could be considered the fathers of modern Israeli literature. These two men brought Hebrew prose into the 20th century, paving the way for writers such as Meir Shalev, Aharon Appelfeld, David Grossman, Etgar Keret, Mira Magen, Irit Linor, Gadi Taub and Amos Oz, she added.
Source: Hungarian News Agency (MTI)
