Hezy leskly biography definition

Poet, choreographer and dance critic Hezy Leskly was born in Israel to Czech Holocaust survivors; he died young, of AIDS, at the height of his creative powers. He had the courage to publicly out his sexual identity as an artist, and also to advance the interests of this community at a time when Israeli society’s receptiveness to gender differences was lower than it is now.

Understanding the use of nonsense in serious poetry is key to understanding Leskly’s work, as Gilad Meiri notes in his essay. Leskly's work is also innovative due to the influence of nonverbal arts, as Meir Wieseltier says in an interview that ranges over the poet's life and work:  

“Hezy was the only Israeli poet to come to poetry from a different field of art. This is a big advantage. Reading and learning have changed enormously over the last two decades and to a certain extent Hezy was one of the poets most suited to the new ways. He came from the plastic arts, created installations, was involved in dance as a critic and a choreographer; he understood dance in a profound and intriguing way. All of this is expressed in his poetry. The plasticity of the verbal images he produced is very different, very good and very interesting. That’s one side.
 
“In addition, he was born into Hebrew, although his parents were Holocaust survivors who did not speak the language well. As a young man he left for Holland to study the plastic arts – nonverbal art – and was attracted there to dance – also nonverbal; in a sense he stepped out of the Hebrew language. He returned to it after several years and this process left a mark on his language. His Hebrew is terrific, but it’s a fact that he traveled along this loop – that he consciously or unconsciously decided to leave, and afterward to return precisely to the dimension of language. When he came back to Israel from Holland, he began to write a lot: not only poetry, but also

‫א וניב ר ס יט ת ת ל ‪ -‬א ב יב‬ ‫ה פ ק ול ט ה ל מ ד ע י ה ר ו ח ע " ש ל ס ט ר ו ס א ל י א נ ט י ן‬ ‫ה ח וג ל ס פ ר ות‬ ‫ַהָיֶּפה ְוַהנּוָֹרא‬ ‫ע ל ש י ר ת ח זי לס ק לי‬ ‫ח י ב ו ר ז ה ה וגש כ ע ב ו ד ת ג מ ר ל ק ר א ת ה ת וא ר‬ ‫"מוסמך אוניברסיטה" – ‪ M.A.‬באוניברסיטת תל אביב‬ ‫ע ל יד י‬ ‫יונת ן ת ד מ ור‬ ‫ה ע ב וד ה ה וכ נה ב ה ד ר כ ת ‪:‬‬ ‫פ ר ופ ׳ מ יכ א ל גל וזמ ן‬ ‫ת א ריך‪:‬‬ ‫אוגוסט ‪2022‬‬ ‫ת וכן ה עניינים‬ ‫פת ח דבר‬ ‫שלוש סיבות לקרוא חזי לסקלי‪3..................................................................................................‬‬ ‫פרק ראשון‬ ‫״המהלך החדש״ אל האצבע‬ ‫על הסגנון המוקדם‪11..................................................................................................................‬‬ ‫פרק שני‬ ‫הכוריאוגרפיה הפואטית‬ ‫על ״מחולות ריקים״‪38................................................................................................................‬‬ ‫פרק שלישי‬ ‫לבקר בברצלונה ולדבר שם אנגלית‬ ‫על פואטיקה של תרגום‪63............................................................................................................‬‬ ‫פרק רביעי‬ ‫המ ש וררי ם המתי ם ‪ ,‬אב ותי ו‬ ‫על ״המשפחה הקדושה״‪84...........................................................................................................‬‬ ‫אחרית דבר‬ ‫לקראת קריאה סוטה‪112.............................................................................................................‬‬ ‫נספח א׳‪ :‬שירים אבודים ואחרים )‪115........................................................................ (1971-1994‬‬ ‫נספח ב׳‪ :‬שירת חזי לסקלי – ביבליוגרפיה‪123................................................................................‬‬ ‫ביבליוגרפיה‪126..........................................................................................................................‬‬ ‫תקציר ‪135...............................................................................

I hate poetry/ for three/ reasons./ First: I can’t rest my head on poetry’s shoulders./ Second: poetry can’t rest its head on my shoulders./ Third: poetry has neither head nor shoulders./ And there is also a fourth reason. ('THREE REASONS' by Hezy Leskly)

Hezy Leskly’s ‘Isaac’ is an elegy for men who die of AIDS, and also an examination of national identity. It evokes not only the Bible story of the near sacrifice of Isaac by Abraham, but also the long tradition of poems in Hebrew literature that use this imagery.

Isaac[1] 

Many years ago
Izzy

was

my soul-mate
he died of AIDS
Peter died of AIDS (the dancing boots)
Hans died of AIDS (opera)
Art died of AIDS (art on the back of postcards)
Diogenes died of AIDS (Japan)
Ulysses died of AIDS (a private museum)

Shulamit
was strangled by a taxi-driver, from Surinam
(a telephone cord)
it seems to me, from Surinam, I’m not sure
about it.
All of these were real people.

Years ago
I walked along one of Amsterdam’s canals
with my friend Benny (Bernhard)
(Oh, the admirable canals!)
and I said to him: I have a feeling
that the plane that bombed Hiroshima
passed here and wiped out
the young homosexuals
of Amsterdam.
After a minute a thought hit me
like thunder, yes, like thunder:
The name of that plane or that bomb, I can’t
remember if it was the plane
or the bomb;
anyway
the name was:
the Enola Gay.
(Oh, the admirable canals!)