From Naples to Jerusalem | Erri De Luca (Italy) in Conversation with Uri S. Cohen

Erri De Luca, one of the most interesting literary voices of our time, is an Italian writer, poet, and translator, born in 1950, considered one of the leading figures in modern Italian literature. His childhood in Naples, a vibrant and multifaceted city, greatly influenced his writing, and he often describes its landscapes, streets, and people in a nostalgic yet clear-eyed tone.

 De Luca studied Hebrew and Yiddish and translated parts of the Bible into Italian (the Book of Exodus, Jonah, Ecclesiastes, and the Book of Ruth).In a 2009 interview with Globes, he said: “In two ways I am involved with the Jewish subject: one is through the sacred stories—the Bible. The need to understand the mother tongue of monotheism led me to learn Hebrew so I could read these stories in their original language, which is so different from the translation. The second aspect is Yiddish. When I returned from Warsaw in 1993, from the events marking the anniversary of the fall of the ghetto, I decided to start learning Yiddish. Today I read Yiddish and translate from it.”

De Luca will speak with scholar of Hebrew and Italian literature from Tel Aviv University, Prof. Uri S. Cohen, about his new book, The Story of Irene (Hakibbutz Hameuchad), about the culture and literary climate in Italy today, and about his long-standing body of work. The event will be held in Italian with simultaneous translation into Hebrew.

In collaboration with the Italian Cultural Institute in Tel Aviv.