Gershon Shaked z”l

I don’t mean to start the post-holiday period with death notices, but the great Israeli literary critic Gershon Shaked died last week.

Shaked was the cartographer of Hebrew literature: He examined the changes that Hebrew literature underwent over the past century from historical, social and cultural perspectives. He mapped local writings, defined generations of Israeli authors, shaped the literary canon and taught and influenced authors and literary critics. For years, Shaked has been considered the leading international authority on Israeli literature. He published more than 20 books and hundreds of articles.  (MORE)

For an introduction to his work, you can read this MJL article about the Israeli “New Wave.”

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