From Closing the Sea to Here I Begin: A Journey Through Writing

‘Closing the Sea’, Yehudit Katzir’s first book (published in Israel in 1990), has captivated readers’ imagination in an unprecedented way.  Subsequent publications: two novels, a collection of short stories and children’s books, reaffirmed her rare gift of story telling. Against the turbulent background of Israeli reality, Yehudit Katzir weaves the stories of her characters, mainly women, as they grow up, negotiating a way between their desires and failures, aspirations and constraints. A clear, detailed observation and deep compassion prevails Katzir’s narratives, building a rich and beautiful voice, leaving a unique mark on Israeli literature.

In this exclusive Hebrew language session, she discusses her writing with Tsila Ratner.

Born in Haifa in 1963, Yehudit Katzir studied literature and cinema at Tel Aviv University. At present, she is an editor at Hakibbutz Hameuchad/Siman Kriah Publishing House and teaches creative writing. Katzir, a bestselling author in Israel, has published two collections of stories and novellas, two novels and two children`s books. In addition to literary prizes for individual stories, Katzir has received the Book Publishers Association`s Gold and Platinum Book Prizes, the Prime Minister`s Prize twice (1996, 2007) and the French WIZO Prize for Matisse Has the Sun in His Belly (2004). Her work has been translated into many languages.

Dr Tsila Ratner is a senior lecturer at UCL's Department of Hebrew and Jewish Studies where she lectures on modern Hebrew literature.

She specializes in gender and national discourses in Israel as reflected in her publications. Dr Ratner is also the co-director of UCL's Cenre for Israel Studies,  MA programme of Gender Studies, a team member of the Centre for Intercultural Studies, Centre of European Studies and the MA programme of Comparative Literature.

Hebrew language session in memory of Risa Domb