“On the Slaughter”: Poetry of Outrage and Aftermath

In celebration of Hayim Nahman Bialik and the new English translation of his poetry, join us for a special reading and conversation with two extraordinary poets and translators: Peter Cole and Robert Pinsky.

Often called the national poet of the Jewish people, Hayim Nahman Bialik helped shape modern Hebrew verse, bringing ancient echoes and urgent feeling to bear on the most tumultuous moments of Jewish life and history.

This year marks a momentous occasion in Bialik’s reach across languages: The New York Review Books edition of “On the Slaughter,” translated and introduced by Peter Cole, presents Bialik for the first time in English as a masterful artist, someone far more politically and psychologically unsettling than his status as icon might suggest.

“On the Slaughter” includes fiery, visionary, and sometimes scandalous poems responding to the pogroms of the early 20th century, as well as quieter lyrics of longing and self-reflection, alongside a sampling of his sly, sophisticated verse for children.

Robert Pinsky, former U.S. poet laureate and one of America’s most revered poetic voices, joins MacArthur-winner Peter Cole for an event that blends readings from the new translation with a lively conversation about how poetry bears witness to history and human experience in the meeting of Bialik’s moment and our own. Peter Cole’s most recent book of poems is “Draw Me After” (FSG). His new translations and collections of prose include “Requiem” by Aharon Shabtai (New Directions), “On the Slaughter: Selected Poems” by Hayim Nahman Bialik (NYRB), and “That Simple?… That Complicated: Conversations on Poetry and Translation” (Free Poetry). Cole has received numerous honors for his work, including a PEN Translation Prize, Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship, MacArthur Fellowship, National Jewish Book Award, and American Academy of Arts and Letters Award in Literature.

Robert Pinsky is one of America’s foremost poets, critics, and translators, and served as poet laureate of the United States from 1997 to 2000, a tenure marked by efforts to bring poetry into wider public life. His poetry collections include “At the Foundling Hospital” and “Selected Poems,” and he has edited influential anthologies such as “The Book of Poetry for Hard Times” and “The Best of the Best of American Poetry.” Pinsky’s work reflects his commitment to a vivid, contemporary poetic diction and to poetry’s place in communal experience. He earned his BA from Rutgers and his MA and Ph.D. from Stanford, and has taught creative writing at institutions including Boston University. In addition to his own poetry and editorial work, he has translated major works such as Friedrich Schiller’s Wallenstein.