A New Sound In Hebrew Poetry: Poetics, Politics, Accent (jewish Literature And Culture)

A New Sound in Hebrew Poetry Poetics, Politics, Accent Miryam Segal A New Sound in Hebrew Poetry Jewish Literature and Culture Series Editor, Alvin H. Rosenfeld A New Sound in Hebrew Poetry Poetics, Politics, Accent Miryam Segal Indiana University Press╇ /╇ Bloomington and Indianapolis This book is a publication of Indiana University Press 601 North Morton Street Bloomington, IN 47404-3797 USA http://iupress.indiana.edu Telephone orders╇ 800-842-6796 Fax orders╇ 812-855-7931 Orders by e-mail╇ [email protected] © 2010 by Miryam Segal All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. The Association of American University Presses’ Resolution on Permissions constitutes the only exception to this prohibition. The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1992. Manufactured in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Segal, Miryam. A new sound in Hebrew poetry : poetics, politics, accent / Miryam Segal. p. cm. — (Jewish literature and culture) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-253-35243-9 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. Hebrew language— Pronunciation—History—20th century.╇ 2. Hebrew poetry, Modern— 20th century—History and criticism.╇ 3. Hebrew language—Revival.╇ I. Title. PJ4579.S42 2010 492.4152—dc22 2008048272 1 2 3 4 5 15 14 13 12 11 10 For Devorah Aravah, with love and gratitude For if a phonograph had existed in ancient times then there would of course be no room for doubt and indecision [with respect to the pronunciation of Hebrew]; since the phonograph is a modern invention, however, our scholars have not been able to make a definitive declaration, and the question remains unresolved. —Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, Hebrew lexicographer, advocate of a “Sephardic” accent, 1903 The sefaradit way is the correct way. —Gene Simmons, lead singer of KISS, 2001 Contents Prefaceâ•… xi Acknowledgmentsâ•… xix A Note on Transliterationâ•… xxi Introductionâ•… 1 1. “Make Your School a Nation-State” Pedagogy and the Rise of the New Accentâ•… 20 2. Representing a Nation in Sound Organic, Hybrid, and Synthetic Hebrewsâ•… 49 3. “Listening to Her Is Torture”: The Menace of a Male Voice in a Woman’s Bodyâ•… 74 4. The Runaway Train and the Yiddish Kid Shlonsky’s Double Inscriptionâ•… 100 Epilogue: The Conundrum of the National Poetâ•… 139 Appendix 1.â•… 151 Appendix 2.â•… 153 Notesâ•… 159 Bibliographyâ•… 191 Indexâ•… 199 ix Preface I n December 2001, on a visit h