Abstract
This paper discusses the relationship between Yaakov Orland's poetry and Nathan Alterman's verse in the context of family ties. The term 'sibling' is used to describe a special relationship between two poets belonging to the same generation. Literary sibling ties are often problematic and may have a tragic perspective, especially when the 'siblings' differ in status despite similarities in their personal and literary biographies. Both Alterman and Orland belong to the same literary generation, that was inspired by the poetics of A. Shlonski. It is a well known fact that Alterman has become the most prominent poet of that generation, and his status was never doubted by his contemporaries. Orland declared in quite an early phase of his literary activity that he is Alterman's sibling. This declaration serves as a kind of an alibi which justifies the affinity of his poetry to Alterman's verse. This essay reviews substantial evidence for a number of ties and relationship between Orland's poetry and Alterman's verse, ranging from virtually unconscious absorption of text segments to imitations of 'Altermanic' rhetorical and prosodic patterns. Orland's declaration of being Alterman's sibling is conceived in this context as an ars-poetic act on Orland's part, by which he is trying to explain his selection and adoption of Alterman's poetics. The paper also discusses the ambivalent ties between Orland's poetry and Alterman's verse. These ties express both independent and dependent attitudes, and they convey mixed feelings of envy and friendship. This ambivalence is particularly characteristic of Orland's second book of poems (1946). The last section of the paper contains observations on Orland's late works (1976-1985) and their relationship to Alterman's verse. This phase indicates a process of gradual and conscious dissociation from the poetic symbiosis with Alterman's works, the symbiosis which was so characteristic of Orland's early poetry. Yet, Orland's late book, Nathan Used to Say (1985), which constitutes memoirs about Alterman, is presented here as an example of the continuous ambivalence of Orland towards Alterman as a poet and, moreover, towards what may be referred to as 'Altermanism.'
Translated title of the contribution | The Poetry of Yaakov Orland in a Sibling-Relation to Alterman's Verse |
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Original language | Hebrew |
Pages (from-to) | 75-100 |
Journal | דפים למחקר בספרות |
Volume | 9 |
State | Published - 1993 |