Helen Bar-Lev, Contributing Editor

 

Interview with Yosef Gotlieb, IL Question: In which country were you born? I was born in the Clinica Biblica, a hospital in San José, Costa Rica in 1955. My parents had been raised in that central American republic, having emigrated from Poland with their families prior to the Holocaust. I was brought as a child to the US, where we lived first on the south side of Chicago and later in southern Florida . I attended university in Massachusetts where I completed my undergraduate work, my master's degree and my doctorate. Question: Where do you live? Tell us a little about your family? I have made my home in Israel since 1984. I lived for several years in Rehovot, a historic rural center and university town. For the past sixteen years, my family and I have lived in Mevasseret Tzion, a town north and west of Jerusalem. My wife is a biochemist who is VP for research and development in a biotech firm. We have two children, a daughter who is preparing for her university studies and a son who is completing his obligatory military service. Question: What is your profession? I have several fields of professional activity. I am a geographer with specialization in international development and global change. In the past I have written widely on international affairs. I also direct a program in Text and Publishing Studies at David Yellin College of Education in Jerusalem. Recently, I have been developing an independent publishing framework called 'Atida Press for my own works and possibly that of other authors. I consider myself an author, first and foremost. I have been writing for many years. Writing for me is a passion, mission and occupation. Question: When did you begin to write poetry and what prompted you to write? While I began writing poetry as a youngster, it was not been a form I focused on until some five years ago. I began writing short stories in my teens and I authored a play in the tradition of theatre of the absurd and protest theatre in high school. I began writing longer works of fiction in my early twenties. A deeper appreciation for poetry came to me in 2007, when I was recovering from a serious illness. I write as a means of expression and as a way of contributing to understanding, my own and, hopefully, that of other people. I write fiction because it is something that demands itself of me. Question: You have just joined Voices Israel. How did you hear of us? I heard of Voices while participating in the 100 Thousand Poets for Peace event held in Haifa, Israel last September. I was invited to attend the event by Dr. Ada Aharoni, a distinguished poet, author, scholar and activist who is the founder and president of the International Forum for the Literature and Culture of Peace. Wendy Blumfield, president of Voices, also participated in the Haifa event. She graciously invited me to become a member. Question: Do you belong to any other writing/poetry groups? Please tell us a little about them. In the course of my professional activities and as director and a lecturer in Text and Publishing Studies program I am in contact with many groups and resources dealing with writing, editing and publishing. This is essential in order to keep abreast of ongoing developments. I have also participated in a year-long workshop group mentored by Judy Labensohn, a highly regarded teacher of fiction and creative nonfiction. Voices has become a support group for the literary me. In general, when I am writing, I tend to complete works without outside input. When I have a cogent draft, I seek out individual peers for feedback. Question: What inspires your poetry? The absolute wonder of life and the attempt to articulate meaning and purpose. Question: Which forms do you prefer? Why? The literary form that is the most expressive for me is the large canvas of a novel. I welcome the possibilities for character and plot development that can be drawn out in an expansive work, and the flexibility of the temporal aspect; in the novel, experiences and relations become the measure of time. The novel provides for the full expression of theme and context, including social, economic, cultural and psychological dimensions. The poem remains for me the hearth where one can temper a thought, experience or feeling into its most exquisite form. When well done, a poem need not relate to any other concrete aspect of corporeal existence, though it inevitably resonates with transcendent meaning. Question: Who is your favorite poet? Dylan Thomas. I also find myself often recalling John Donne's work, as I did when I fashioned a poem following the recent death of a friend. The Bible has always inspired me; Kohelet, Ecclesiastes, has anchored me since grade school. I will also take this opportunity to admit that there is poetry that I greatly appreciate in the lyrics of contemporary music, including folk, blues and rock. Question: Where have you been published? My nonfiction work has been published in a variety of periodicals. My first book, Self-Determination in the Middle East was published by Praeger in 1982. Another work dealing with society-nature relations, Development, Environment and Global Dysfunction was presented by St Lucie press in 1996. I have had opinion pieces in The New York Times and Los Angeles Times. I have also published in academic journals, mainly in the discipline of geography. I blog occasionally in Green Prophet, the Mideast environmental website. Question: Please tell us about RISE, your novel, which has been such a success. Rise, A Novel of Contemporary Israel is a work that has been long in the making. It's a political thriller, a form that I felt offers the best vehicle for accomplishing the work's mission: providing insight into social currents that threaten my beloved nation from within. It's about people taking responsibility for themselves and their society and seeking to restore their country on the foundations that it was originally established, that is, social justice. It is an appeal for greater tolerance and for coexistence between Israel and our neighbors, and for more neighborly relations between Jews and Arabs. The story revolves around Lilah, an internationally-acclaimed photographer, who returns home to her native land after thirty years of self-exile following a family tragedy. She returns to Israel and finds herself caught in a cauldron of events that forces herself to overcome her past. By participating in the struggle to redeem the nation she finds herself finally "home," and though the personal price of her homecoming is high, she finds renewal and enhanced meaning in her life. Rise is presented to readers by Atida Press, the publishing framework that I established to avail myself of the benefits of independent publishing. Achieving publishing independence is liberatory for authors in many respects, though the responsibilities are many. Rise now appears both in print and eBook formats internationally on all major Internet platforms and eReaders. Two chapters are always found on my website www.ysgotlieb.net and one of them is rotated each month. Question: Is there anything else you would care to tell us? In my poem, Bialik Hall, Writers House I attempt to communicate the importance of literary and cultural endeavor. In a global age characterized by bewildering change, and given the shortcomings of politicians and other authorities in terms of leadership today, I believe that it is up to poets, writers and cultural proponents of all kinds to provide a moral compass, vision and stewardship. It is up to us to carry the light and keep it burning. We must strengthen each other, across borders and boundaries of all kinds.   Poem of Yosef Gotlieb, IL Free Verse   The Tides of Time   The half-shell bowl of Caesarea, Curvaceous walls of encrusted stone, Still stand…                              (but are fated to sand by the sea-blown whisper) Once, perhaps, it had been The cupped hand of some heathen Titan,           who had fallen from the sea,           and rotted,           eels protruding from his terrible head,           his mouth choked, his throat clotted,           with the seaweed of conceit and lust, and           the trifles of ill-living,           its wages: Ancient Greece deposed           its wisdom contrite, consigned to books,           still read. On that beach, after the corpse had been drawn into deep waters, Came the fleet Dispatched by Rome To claim Phoenicia, Then Judea, And March to All Corners. Upon this spot,           augustly draped, inimitable, in the hues of the setting sun The Commander swaggered down the plank, His sword thrust high, he proclaimed                “Hail Caesar, Hail Caesar,                “Glory, Glory.                “Here we erect                “A monument [for follies],                “Hail Caesar, Hail Caesar, To which his legions, following in tow, roared                Saluto, Saluto,                Victoria, Victoria! They pounded their lances upon the ground Eager for the spoils, they had been promised. The emperor had decreed A port was to be built here, and                masons came,                then traders,                and horse breeders,                for the races.                Coins fell onto the sand                from money bags that dangled                and left a trail to                games played here.                The games were played, delights were known,                Though Rome forgot, or had not been told,                The timeless whisper:                             The Tides of Time,                             The Sea is strong. Three hundred paces by the legions’ boots, Across the grasses where the Titan's hand had rested There was to be raised a place for sporting dances Stone cutters of Rome toiled, Slaves built the walls, and the Arēna, a place of sand, atop the sand, was erected. Step-lipped benches upon which sat, Nobles awaiting a show In the dripping air and the candescent heat The whispering sea upon their faces, How they craved The show, the show! The viewers' gaze locked on the archways Through which would prance, Better, storm, The spectators' pleasure, Maidens, Their nipples pressed, firm buttocks creased Against their gowns, Dancing, twirling, feet hither, feet thro, And then, The saplings, The phallus of Rome Stalwart as sentinels beneath their skirts, They with their darlings provided mirth To those who howled gaily, The show, the show! No one heard.                the timeless whisper:                The Tides of Time,                The Sea is strong.                The heart of Caesarea was empty,                The pillars and alters would be toppled,                Broken statues would fall, the gods of Rome broken,                Buried, in the sand                Along with the coins that had been gambled                Nothing, now, could they buy. And now an echo, only an echo, Conquistadors, pay heed, those of mine, aye, pay heed:                the timeless whisper                The Tides of Time,                The Sea is strong.     Wien   I. Wien, so many pastels, so trim and fit. Where is the passion of your old stones? Clapping hooves on your pavements, horses march, pulling wagons, a sigh of spirit? ‘tis a tenuous claim, The carts ply tourists so they might see what has been lost. II. Wien, So many shades of pale grays to beige the tolling of bells time,          seeps,                       slides. A small rumble on your cobblestoned ways                                                                    chimes clang distant the cold, brooding canopy above, slate, submits you to order pursues order, on and on. Where is your soul? Your buildings huddle shoulder to shoulder pressing together                        to hide a spirit? a specter? I spy your statuary Trident’s fork and Ulysses’ sword,                                                Thrusting,                                                             impotent. They poke for naught from the deepest depths of forest moss The Elysian fields that feed your soul are now beneath it, all thistle and stone, and the clapping of hooves as life passes, above, beyond Your horses’ sweet dung seems the most alive of you… The fabled heroes are no more. And so, now, Wien, What is your meaning? III. Dusk. I erred. You spring alive, Suddenly I see you a luminescence a whiteness unsealed I, wanting to see, peer at you, You are a Stag, Horns entangled, In a forest, in a thicket, snorting, you phew “Release me, Release me             so that I might                                      flee                                      propelling across the vast whiteness                                      my hooves cleave to it                                      I sweep ahead                                      forward I race                                      the fire in me burns,                                      white,                                      run, alive, alive                                      I am a creature, sinew and fury                                      Across the woodscape I do spring                                      I would                                                   fall                                                         high                                                                to the moon                                                                          the white orb,                                                                                                I, I,                                      In the thunderous dark night                                      I would seize the moon                                      In a bite, my jaws tight on it,                                      I would pull to clench it clean of the                                      filament, its shroud,                                      until it would bleed,                                      the Moon,                                      dripping,                                      sanguineous,                                      a track of injury                                      upon the snows,                                      so I, the Stag                                      might flee again                                      its touch, desire, to                                      “be me, be me”                                      My passions.” You forest Stag, Wien. You slumber, beneath a mantle of forest moss, thick and deep, It is the comfort it offers that makes you free              To write your great works, and              Hear the music,              Others could have never known. Note, Dec. 9, 2011: Vienna’s passions are sublimated into great music, art and theory. Klimt, Schiele, Freud, Mozart, Beethoven, Herzl. Freud’s theory seems correct as social representation of petit-bourgeois Vienna of the time. The question is: Are these patters universally projectable. I found myself quite affected after only a few hours of walking in central Vienna on the weekend of Dec. 9-11, 2011. The sentiments I felt find expression in this poem, which I began while standing between the old Jewish section of the city and the Scottish quarter. After arriving after dusk on the avenue near the Stephenplatz, I composed the second part of the piece.     Bialik Hall, Writers House   The egg-crate ceiling of Bialik Hall Has stucco dripping Like tears stuck in time. To the side of the podium a granite bust presides, A literary seer of Zion, unknown to my eyes His gargantuan face thrusts severely With the gaze of a ship captain in lost waters Who peers hard through the nocturnal fog His eyes scouring the shoreline. Though trapped in forgotten stone The sage in low murmur Recounts deeds and loves and heartaches And where safe harbor might be found. In my imaginings he has told a tale Of gentle, graceful arbors With moss-laden branches From which emerge Gray-bearded men and women with furrowed faces They walk, eyes open, groping forward in the darkness Clutching lanterns bearing a small light. As the journeyers trod forward They utter words to be captured, Inscribed, then recited to all who will listen. In Bialik Hall The Gibraltar presence A fierce head atop a granite bust, His countenance heaved forward, His gaze upon the sojourners, He commands with quiet thunder, “You, poets, scribes, find the way!”     Ode to Michal, Death Be Not Proud   Death assumed her acquiescence As it dallied but loomed near In the dimming light of her confinement It wagered on silent surrender An outrage, she would not concede. As the waters of her being Seeped into the timeless sand She clutched the final drops And forestalled the parting With the iron of her soul. Between the blows against the anvil Amidst the bellowing gales of darkness She sang out through the vicissitudes “My body you may vanquish, But you will never take my spirit.”     The Conjugality of Hydrogen and Oxygen   In the galactic vastness Wherein we reside On planet GJ1214b, (newly discovered and 2.7 times the size of Earth) There is much more water than stone. The aqueousness of that random rock Sets me to ponder The immensely improbable conjugality Of two common elements H, and Ionic O, Which, apparently, Wherever they meet Mate, And enable All that lives. That these two spouses, When conjoined Produce an offspring, So vitally potent, So ubiquitous to all that Breathes and gasps and sighs, Requires of me, A respiring mortal, To inquire Is this happenstance or design? If on Earth and Venus and GJ1214b, Perhaps also on orbs across the sky, This richly unlikely communion is found, then A cosmic presence so Unimaginably unique, Its union so wholly incalculable, Seems to utter sublimely, A subtle but unmistakable call, I am, endowing, And here With you.     The Frothing Wave of Raindance   The frothing wave of your tresses piled atop your pearl-drop face, All porcelain and amber, eyes of glistening raindance. Light, ‘o light, you warm me so. A conch shell bellows, when we are apart, The ground roars open, and I peer at my trembling feet, I fear I might fall into the blackness, a life devoid of us. Light, ‘o light, I yearn to hold forever The frothing wave, the raindance in your eyes, Your luminescence in my palms Set upon my breast, you warm me so.