Amir Or


Amir Or, is an Israeli poet, novelist, and essayist whose works have been published in more than 50 languages.
He is the author of fourteen volumes of poetry. His most recent books in Hebrew are Loot, Wings, Child and Thirst. Or also published a fictional epic in metered prose, The Song of Tahira and the novel The Kingdom about the life of king David and contemporary society.

Biography

Amir Or was born in Tel Aviv. He has worked as a shepherd, builder and restaurateur. He studied philosophy and comparative religion at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, where he later lectured on Ancient Greek Religion. Or has published essays on poetry, classics and comparative religion, and has taught creative writing in universities in Israel, Europe, USA and Japan.

Literary career

In 1990 Or founded "Helicon Poetry Society" in Israel and has been Editor-in-Chief of Helicon's journal and series of poetry books. In 1993 he set up the Arabic-Hebrew Helicon Poetry School and has founded and directed the Sha’ar International Poetry Festival. Or has also edited other literary journals and several anthologies of Hebrew verse in European languages. He has served as editor of the Catuv poetry books series, as national editor of the international poetry magazines Atlas and Blesok, and as a national coordinator for the U.N. sponsored UPC venture, “Poets for Peace.” He is a founding memberof the EACWP of the international Circle of Poets and of the WPM. Or gave readings and lectured in poetry festivals and conferences worldwide.

Awards and recognition

Or is the 2020 SPE Golden Wreath laureate. His other awards include the Levi Eshkol Prime Minister's Prize, the Hebrew University Harry Harshon prize, the Bernstein Prize, the Fulbright Award for writers, the 2010 Oeneumi literary prize of the Tetovo Poetry Festival, the 2013 Wine Poetry prize of the Struga Poetry Evenings, the 2014 Stefan Mirtov Ljubiša international literary award, the 2016 European Atlas of Lyrics award, the 2017 BlueMet World Through Poetry award, the 2019 Homer European Medal of Poetry and Art, the 2020 ACUM Directorate prize, the 2021 Wladislaw Reimont and Ianicius awards, Poland, "for his contribution to world poetry" and the 2022 Shabdha Guchha award, NY, USA; as well as Fellowships at the University of Iowa, the Jewish-Hebrew Centre of the University of Oxford, the Heinrich Böll Foundation and the Literarische Colloquium, Berlin among others. For his translations he was awarded the 1995 Honorary Prize of the Israeli Minister of Culture and for his editorial work - the 2017 literary editing award of the Israeli Minister of Culture .

Published works

Or published 14 poetry books, 2 novels, a book of essays and 11 books of his translations to Hebrew. His latest book, 'Thirst', mostly spoken by female characters, is an existential parable that tells the story of the soul's journey. After being cut off from her source, the object of her longing, she makes her way back to him through the forking paths of life. One by one, the characters are revealed as incarnations of the thirsty soul, who seeks to reunite with her lover, in countless ways of disorientation and distance, longing, passion and devotion.
His work was translated to more than 50 languages and published in 46 books in Europe, America and Asia.

Hebrew books

  • Tsama, Ha-kibbutz Ha-meuchad, 2025
  • Yeled, Ha-kibbutz Ha-meuchad, 2018
  • Al Ha-derekh, Pardes, 2018
  • Sikha, Essays, Ha-kibbutz Ha-meuchad, 2018
  • HaMamlakha, Novel, Ha-kibbutz Ha-meuchad, 2015
  • Knafayim, Ha-kibbutz Ha-meuchad, 2015
  • Shalal Selected poems 1977–2013, Ha-kibbutz Ha-meuchad, 2013
  • Masa HaMeshuga, Keshev, 2012
  • HaHaya SheBalev. Keshev, 2010
  • Muzeion Hazman. Ha-kibbutz Ha-meuchad, 2007
  • Shir Tahira. Novel, Xargol, 2001.
  • Yom. Ha-kibbutz Ha-meuchad & Tag, 1998.
  • Shir. Ha-kibbutz Ha-meuchad, 1996.
  • Kakha. Ha-kibbutz Ha-meuchad, 1995.
  • Pidyon ha-met., Helicon-Bitan, 1994.
  • Panim. Am Oved, 1991.
  • Ani mabbit me-‛eyney ha-qofim. Eqed, 1987.

    Books in translation

  • Loot – selected poems 1977-2025,
  • The Museum of Time,English,
  • Dete,translated into Serbian by Vida Ognjenović,
  • Language Says, selected poems 1977-2019, Spanish, translated by Gerardo Lewin, Valparaiso Ediciones, Granada, Spain 2023
  • Child, English, translated by Seth Michelson
  • Duet of Dawn, Japanese, translated by Maki Starfield, Junpa Books, Tokyo 2023
  • Haiku Travelogue, French, translated by Benjamin Boulitrop, Voix d'Encre, Montelimar, 2022
  • Amir Or, Selected Poems, The Golden Wreath Book, Hebrew/English/Macedonian, translated to Macedonian by Zoran Ancevski
  • Sand and Time, Persian,, selected poems, translated by Rosa Jamali,
  • The Museum of Time, Greek, translated by Anastassis Vistonitis,
  • Wings, French, translated by Michel Eckhart
  • Haiku Travelogue, French, translated by Benjamin Boulitrop
  • The Right View into Portuguese by Moacir Amancio
  • Language Says into Persian by Rosa Jamali
  • Between Here and There , into French by Michel Eckhard Elial,
  • More , into Georgian by Nika Jorjaneli, Nodar Dumbadze Publishers, Tbilisi, 2018
  • Wings, into English by Seth Michelson, Sagging Meniscus, New York 2018
  • Loot, English, Dhauli Books, Bhubaneswar 2018
  • Say and I'll be, into Serbian by Vida Ognjenović and David Albahari, Arhipelag, Belgrade 2017
  • Lessons, into Slovenian,
  • Language Says – selected poems, into Bulgarian by Antonia Apostolova and Robert Levy,
  • The Museum of Time – selected poems, into Chinese, by Wang Hao
  • The Kingdom Part 1: The Runnaway, into English by Anthony Berris
  • Dédale ; into French, by Isabelle Dotan
  • Reci i Ja Ću Biti ; into Serbian, by Vida Ognjenović and David Albahari,
  • Krila into Serbian, by Vida Ognjenović,
  • Dia>Logos; into English. Selected poems,
  • Muzei Vremena ; into Serbian, by Vida Ognjenović and David Albahari,
  • Twarze ; into Polish by Beata Tarnowska,
  • Tredici Poesie ; into Italian by Paolo Ruffilli,
  • Mucize ve Yağma ; into Turkish by Ulker Ince,
  • Să Te Vorbim Pe Tine ; into Romanian by Ioana Ieronim, trilingual e-book with new translations, Romanian/English/Hebrew, http://editura.mttlc.ro/carti/Amir%20Or.%20Let's%20Speak%20You.%20CLP.pdf
  • Le Musée de Temps ; into French by Aurélia Lassaque and Jacques Rancourt,
  • Milagro ; into Spanish by Karla Coreas,
  • Der museum van de tijd ; into Dutch by Peter Boreas,
  • Pohara ;into Serbian by David Albahari and Vida Ognjenović,
  • Miracle/The Hours, Milagro/Las Horas; into Spanish by Karla Coreas,
  • Plates from the Museum of Time
  • Day — into English by Fiona Sampson,
  • Wiersz ; into Polish by Beata Tarnowska,
  • Să Te Vorbim Pe Tine ; into Romanian by Ioana Ieronim,
  • Poem, into English by Helena Berg,
  • Language Says, English
  • Davej se, disam ziva voda — into Macedonian by Bogomil Gjuzel and Zoran Ancevski;
  • Miracle; English/Hebrew by Theo Dorgan, Tony Curtis and Mcdara Woods
  • As-sha‛ru Fattatu l-Mujrimin ; into Arabic by Reuven Snir

    Or's translations into Hebrew

  • The Gospel of Thomas,
  • Limb-Loosening Desire
  • Stories From The Mahabharata
  • Lizard by Banana Yoshimoto
  • To a Woman by Shuntaro Tanikawa
  • The Distance Between Us by Fiona Sampson
  • The Song of The Salamander by Aurélia Lassaque
  • Mara's Ghost by Anastassis Vistonitis
  • Bitter Buckwheat by Jidi Madjia
  • From The Hebrew Side - selected translations
  • ''The Song of God - Bhagavad Gita''

    Poetry online

  • "Shaharit "
  • "POEM"
  • "POEM"
  • "The Barbarians "
  • "Blue Job"
  • "A Glass of Beer"
  • "Epitaph"
  • "I Look Through the Monkeys’ Eyes"
Category:20th-century Israeli poets
Category:Hebrew-language poets
Category:Modern Hebrew writers
Category:Living people
Category:Bernstein Prize recipients
Category:International Writing Program alumni
Category:21st-century Israeli poets
Category:Israeli male poets
Category:20th-century Israeli male writers
Category:21st-century Israeli male writers
Category:1956 births
Category:Hebrew University of Jerusalem alumni
Category:Writers from Tel Aviv
Category:Herzliya Hebrew Gymnasium alumni