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'{{Short description|Russian-born Hebrew poet (1875 – 1943)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}} {{Infobox writer <!-- for more information see [[:Template:Infobox writer/doc]] --> | name = Shaul Tchernichovsky | image = Shaul Tchernichovsky 1927.jpg | imagesize = 200px | caption = Tchernichovsky in 1927 | pseudonym = | birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1875|8|20}} | birth_place = [[Mykhailivka Raion|Mykhailivka]], [[Taurida Governorate]], [[Russian Empire]] | death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|1943|10|14|1875|8|20}} | death_place = [[Jerusalem]], [[Mandatory Palestine|British Mandate of Palestine]] | occupation = Poet, essayist, translator, doctor | nationality = Russian by birth, immigrated to [[Mandatory Palestine|Palestine]] | period = | genre = Lyrical-erotic Poetry, Epic Poetry | subject = | movement = | signature = Shaul Tchernichovsky signature IMG 3463.JPG | website = }} '''Shaul Tchernichovsky''' ({{lang-he|שאול טשרניחובסקי}}) or '''Saul Gutmanovich Tchernichovsky''' ({{lang-ru|link=no|Саул Гутманович Черниховский}}; 20 August 1875 – 14 October 1943) was a Russian-born [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] poet. He is considered one of the great Hebrew poets, identified with nature poetry, and as a poet greatly influenced by the culture of [[ancient Greece]]. ==Biography== Tchernichovsky was born on 20 August 1875 in the village of [[Mykhailivka, Mykhailivka Raion|Mykhailivka]], Mykhailivka Raion, [[Taurida Governorate]] (now in [[Zaporizhzhia Oblast]], [[Ukraine]]). He attended a modern Jewish primary school and transferred to a secular Russian school at the age of 10.<ref name=JVL>[[Jewish Virtual Library]], [https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/tchernichovsky.html Shaul Tchernichovsky]</ref> He published his first poems in [[Odessa]] where he studied from 1890 to 1892 and became active in [[Zionist]] circles.<ref name=JVL/> His first published poem was "In My Dream." From 1929 to 1930 he spent time in America. In 1931, he [[aliyah|immigrated]] to the [[Mandatory Palestine|British Mandate of Palestine]] and settled there permanently.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=31tPDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT172|title=The Zionist Ideas: Visions for the Jewish Homeland--then, Now, Tomorrow|first=Gil|last=Troy|date=21 November 2018|publisher=U of Nebraska Press|via=Google Books}}</ref> He married the Russian-born Christian, Melania Karlova,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/does-face-of-poet-who-intermarried-belong-on-new-currency/|title=Tchernichovsky sparks currency row|first=Itamar|last=Sharon|website=www.timesofisrael.com}}</ref> and resisted all demands from fellow Jews in Palestine that she convert to Judaism.<ref>[https://mondoweiss.net/2018/08/variations-israel-being/]</ref> Tchernichovsky and Karlova had a daughter together, Isolda. He was a friend of the Klausner family of Jerusalem, including the child who would grow up to become the novelist [[Amos Oz]], to whom he was "Uncle Shaul." Shaul Tchernichovsky died in [[Jerusalem]] on 14 October 1943. ==Medical career== From 1899 to 1906 he studied medicine at the [[University of Heidelberg]], finishing his medical studies in Lausanne. From then on, he mingled his activities as a doctor with his activities as a poet. After completing his studies he returned to Ukraine to practice in [[Kharkiv]] and in [[Kiev]]. In the First World War he served as an army doctor in [[Minsk]] and in [[Saint Petersburg]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TGYfYxz4vqkC&pg=PA92|title=Jewish Medicine: What it is and why it Matters|first=Michael|last=Nevins|date=21 November 2006|publisher=iUniverse|via=Google Books}}</ref> Tchernichovsky served as doctor of the [[Herzliya Hebrew High School]] in [[Tel Aviv]]. In his later years he served as doctor for the Tel Aviv schools. ==Literary career== ===Poetry=== [[File:שאול טשרניחובסקי-JNF010938.jpeg|thumb|200px|Shaul Tchernichovsky in his youth]] [[File:Tchernichovsky tomb.JPG|thumb|Tchernichovsky's grave in Tel Aviv]] In the poetry of Tchernichovsky there is a blend of the influences of Jewish cultural heritage and world cultural heritage. He writes on Hebrew subjects as in "In Endor", a poem about [[Saul the King|King Saul]]. Saul comes to the [[witch of Endor]], who dramatically describes Saul's condition at the end of his life. Tchernichovsky particularly identified with the character of Saul, perhaps due to his own name. He further describes in the poem the tragic fall of Saul and his sons on [[Gilboa (ridge)|Mount Gilboa]]. In contrast, in the poem "Before a Statue of Apollo", the poet proves his affinity for Greek culture, identifying with the beauty it represents, even bowing down to it. Tchernichovsky is the Hebrew poet most identified with the [[sonnet]]. He introduced the [[crown of sonnets]] ({{lang-he|כליל סונטות}}) into the Hebrew language as a "sonnet" built of fifteen sonnets in which the final sonnet consists of the first lines of the other fourteen sonnets. Each of his crowns of sonnets concerns a particular topic, such as "On Blood" or "To the Sun". Even with his yen for world culture, Tchernichovsky is identified with the fate of his people. In response to the [[Holocaust]] he wrote the poems "The Slain of Tirmonye" and "Ballads of Worms" that brought into expression his heart's murmurings concerning the tragic fate of the Jewish people. Toward the end of his life he composed some poems that are centered on images from his childhood point of view. These poems, which can properly be termed [[idyll]]s, are regarded by many as his most splendid poetic works. Some even believe that Tchernichovsky's idylls serve as an example and a model for all of the idylls that have been written in the Hebrew language. Many of his poems have been set to music by the best Hebrew popular composers, such as Yoel Angel and Nahum Nardi. Singer-songwriters have also set his lyrics to music, as [[Shlomo Artzi]] did for ''They Say There Is a Land'' (''omrim yeshna eretz'', אומרים ישנה ארץ), which is also well known in the settings of [[Joel Engel (composer)|Joel Engel]] and of Miki Gavrielov. ''Oh My Land My Birthplace'' (''hoy artzi moladeti'', {{lang-he|הו ארצי מולדתי}}) is better known in the setting by [[Naomi Shemer]], as arranged by Gil Aldema. ''Shalosh atonot'' (''Three Jenny-asses'', {{lang-he|שלוש אתונות}}) also became a popular song. From 1925 to 1932 he was one of the editors of the newspaper ''Hatekufa''. He also edited the section on medicine in the Hebrew encyclopedia [[Encyclopaedia Judaica|''Eshkol'']]. ===Translation=== Tchernichovsky was known as an skilled translator.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://web.nli.org.il/sites/nli/english/library/news/newsletter/2014/march-2014/pages/tchernikovsky.aspx|title=Celebrating the Life and Work of Shaul Tchernichovsky, One of Modern Hebrew’s Greatest Poets|website=web.nli.org.il}}</ref> His translation of [[Homer]]'s [[Iliad]] and [[Odyssey]] particularly earned recognition. He also translated [[Sophocles]], [[Horace]], [[Shakespeare]], [[Molière]], [[Pushkin]], [[Goethe]], [[Heinrich Heine|Heine]], [[Byron]], [[Percy Bysshe Shelley|Shelley]], the ''[[Kalevala]]'', the [[Epic of Gilgamesh|Gilgamesh Cycle]], the Icelandic [[Edda]], etc. [[File:50_New_Sheqalim2014_Obverse_%26_Reverse.png|thumb|Tchernichovsky on the 50 NIS banknote]] ===Editing and linguistics=== He was active in writers' organizations and a member of the Committee of the Hebrew Language. He was also the editor of the Hebrew terminology manual for medicine and the natural sciences. ==Awards and recognition== Tchernichovsky was twice awarded the [[Bialik Prize]] for [[Hebrew literature|literature]], in 1940 (jointly with [[Zelda (poet)|Zelda Mishkovsky]]) and in 1942 (jointly with [[Haim Hazaz]]).<ref>{{Cite web| title = List of Bialik Prize recipients 1933–2004, Tel Aviv Municipality website (in Hebrew)| url = http://www.tel-aviv.gov.il/Hebrew/_MultimediaServer/Documents/12516738.pdf| url-status = dead| archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20071217143811/http://www.tel-aviv.gov.il/Hebrew/_MultimediaServer/Documents/12516738.pdf| archivedate = 17 December 2007| df = dmy-all}}</ref> After his death, the Tel Aviv municipality dedicated a [[Tchernichovsky Prize|prize for exemplary translation]] in his name. A school in Tel Aviv is named after him, as is the center for the [[Hebrew Writers Association in Israel]]. Many other towns in Israel have also named streets and schools after him. In 2011, Shaul Tchernichovsky was chosen to be one of four Israeli poets whose portraits would be on Israeli currency (together with [[Leah Goldberg]], [[Rachel Bluwstein]], and [[Nathan Alterman]]);<ref>Nadav Shemer, ''The Jerusalem Post'', 3 October 2011</ref> the 50 [[Israeli new shekel|NIS]] bill was unveiled on 10 September 2014.<ref>{{Cite web| title = Israel announces new 50 shekel bill)| url = http://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-announces-new-50-shekel-bill/}}</ref> ==See also== * [[Bialik Prize|List of Bialik Prize recipients]] * [[Tchernichovsky Prize]] ==References== {{Reflist}} ==Further reading== * ''[[The Modern Hebrew Poem Itself]]'' (2003), {{ISBN|0-8143-2485-1}} * {{cite book|last=Abramson|first=Glenda|title=Hebrew Writing of the First World War|year=2008|publisher=Valentine Mitchell|isbn=9780853037705|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=POgXAQAAIAAJ&q=Hebrew+Writing+of+the+First+World+War}} ==External links== {{commonscat|Shaul Tchernichovsky}} * The [[National Library of Israel]]'s [http://web.nli.org.il/sites/NLI/Hebrew/collections/PersonalWebs/Tchernichovsky/Pages/default.aspx/ website about Tchernichovsky], including scanned books and [[manuscripts]] (in [[Hebrew]]) * [http://benyehuda.org/tchernichowsky/ Tchernichovsky's complete works] (in Hebrew) at Project Ben-Yehuda {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Tchernichovsky, Shaul}} [[Category:1875 births]] [[Category:1943 deaths]] [[Category:People from Mykhailivka Raion]] [[Category:People from Taurida Governorate]] [[Category:Ukrainian Jews]] [[Category:Soviet emigrants to Mandatory Palestine]] [[Category:Jews in Mandatory Palestine]] [[Category:Modern Hebrew writers]] [[Category:Hebrew-language poets]] [[Category:Russian military personnel of World War I]] [[Category:Order of the White Rose of Finland]] [[Category:Burials at Trumpeldor Cemetery]]'