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Shabtai died of a [[myocardial infarction|heart attack]] in 1981.
Shabtai died of a [[myocardial infarction|heart attack]] in 1981.
==Literary career==
==Literary career==
His best known work is ''Zikhron Devarim'' (1977), published in English in 1985 as ''[[Past Continuous (novel)|Past Continuous]]''. Written as a single paragraph, it was the first novel to be written in vernacular [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]. In its English translation the novel received international acclaim as a unique work of modernism, prompting critic [[Gabriel Josipovici]] of [[The Independent]] to name it the greatest novel of the decade, comparing it to [[Marcel Proust|Proust]]'s ''[[In Search of Lost Time]]''.{{citation needed|date=January 2016}}
His best known work is ''Zikhron Devarim'' (1977), published in English in 1985 as ''[[Past Continuous (novel)|Past Continuous]]''. Written as a single paragraph, it was the first novel in vernacular [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]].
In its English translation the novel received international acclaim as a unique work of modernism, prompting critic [[Gabriel Josipovici]] of [[The Independent]] to name it the greatest novel of the decade, comparing it to [[Marcel Proust|Proust]]'s ''[[In Search of Lost Time]]''.{{citation needed|date=January 2016}}


In Israel, Shabtai is known as a playwright, having written the plays ''Crowned Head'' and ''The Spotted Tiger''. He translated many plays into Hebrew, including works by [[Harold Pinter]], [[Neil Simon]], [[Noël Coward]] and [[Eugene O'Neill]]. Other works by Shabtai include ''[[Uncle Peretz Takes Off]]'', a collection of short stories, and ''[[Past Perfect (Sof Davar)|Past Perfect]]'' (''Sof Davar''), a continuation of ''Past Continuous'' in terms of narrative and style, published [[posthumous work|posthumous]]ly. In 2006 a collection of early stories was published under the title ''A Circus in Tel Aviv''.
In Israel, Shabtai is known as a playwright, having written the plays ''Crowned Head'' and ''The Spotted Tiger''. He translated many plays into Hebrew, including works by [[Harold Pinter]], [[Neil Simon]], [[Noël Coward]] and [[Eugene O'Neill]]. Other works by Shabtai include ''[[Uncle Peretz Takes Off]]'', a collection of short stories, and ''[[Past Perfect (Sof Davar)|Past Perfect]]'' (''Sof Davar''), a continuation of ''Past Continuous'' in terms of narrative and style, published [[posthumous work|posthumous]]ly. In 2006 a collection of early stories was published under the title ''A Circus in Tel Aviv''.


Shabtai's daughter Hamutal recalls him pacing the house reciting passages from his books to hear how they sounded.<ref>[https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium.MAGAZINE-this-israeli-author-wrote-about-the-2020-pandemic-23-years-ago-1.8747689 Israeli Author Wrote a Book on the 2020 Pandemic 23 Years Ago, [[Haaretz]]]</ref>
Shabtai's daughter Hamutal recalls him pacing the house reciting passages from his books to hear how they sounded.<ref>[https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium.MAGAZINE-this-israeli-author-wrote-about-the-2020-pandemic-23-years-ago-1.8747689 Israeli Author Wrote a Book on the 2020 Pandemic 23 Years Ago, [[Haaretz]]]</ref>


==Awards and recognition==
==Awards and recognition==

Revision as of 11:20, 26 April 2020

Yaakov Shabtai
יעקב שבתאי
Born1934
Tel Aviv, Mandate Palestine
Died1981
Occupation(s)Novelist, playwright, and translator
Awards

Yaakov Shabtai (1934–1981) (Hebrew: יעקב שבתאי) was an Israeli novelist, playwright, and translator.

Biography

Shabtai was born in 1934 in Tel Aviv, Mandate Palestine. In 1957, after completing military service, he joined Kibbutz Merhavia, but returned to Tel Aviv in 1967.[1]

His daughter, Hamutal Shabtai, wrote a science fiction novel that foresaw the 2020 coronavirus pandemic. Another daughter, Orly, is a clinical psychologist.[2] His brother Aharon is a poet and translator from Ancient Greek.

Shabtai died of a heart attack in 1981.

Literary career

His best known work is Zikhron Devarim (1977), published in English in 1985 as Past Continuous. Written as a single paragraph, it was the first novel in vernacular Hebrew. Although the story is told in separate sentences, there is no separation into chapters.[3]

In its English translation the novel received international acclaim as a unique work of modernism, prompting critic Gabriel Josipovici of The Independent to name it the greatest novel of the decade, comparing it to Proust's In Search of Lost Time.[citation needed]

In Israel, Shabtai is known as a playwright, having written the plays Crowned Head and The Spotted Tiger. He translated many plays into Hebrew, including works by Harold Pinter, Neil Simon, Noël Coward and Eugene O'Neill. Other works by Shabtai include Uncle Peretz Takes Off, a collection of short stories, and Past Perfect (Sof Davar), a continuation of Past Continuous in terms of narrative and style, published posthumously. In 2006 a collection of early stories was published under the title A Circus in Tel Aviv.

Shabtai's daughter Hamutal recalls him pacing the house reciting passages from his books to hear how they sounded.[4]

Awards and recognition

  • In 1978, Shabtai was awarded the Bernstein Prize (original Hebrew novel category), which was the inaugural year of the prize.[1]
  • In 1978, he was awarded the Kinor David Prize for Plays.[1]
  • In 1982, he was posthumously awarded the Agnon Prize for literature.[1]
  • In 1999, the Tel Aviv Municipality named a street after him.

Published works

Works translated into English

  • Past Continuous (Zikhron Devarim, He: זכרון דברים) Jewish Publication Society of America, 1985, ISBN 0-8276-0239-1
  • Past Perfect (Sof Davar, He: סוף דבר) Viking Press, 1987, ISBN 0-670-81308-7
  • Uncle Peretz Takes Off (Ha-Dod Peretz Mamri, He: הדוד פרץ ממריא) Overlook, 2004, ISBN 1-58567-340-4

Other works

  • The Wondrous Journey of the Toad (Ha-Masah Ha-Muflah Shel Ha-Karpad, He: המסע המופלא של הקרפד; Children's book), 1964.
  • Poems and Ballads (Shirei HaZemer, lit. The Song of Songs), 1992.
  • The Spotted Tiger and Other Plays (Namer Havarburot Ve-Aherim), 1995.
  • Crowned Head and Other Plays (Keter Ba-Rosh Ve-Aherim), 1995.
  • A Circus in Tel Aviv (Kirkas be-Tel Aviv, short stories, some alternate versions of stories from Uncle Peretz Takes Off), 2006.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d Shabtai, Yaakov – Jewish Writers of the Twentieth Century Bookrags, accessed July 14, 2011 [dead link]
  2. ^ Israeli Author Wrote a Book on the 2020 Pandemic 23 Years Ago, Haaretz
  3. ^ Jewish Virtual Library, Yaakov Shabtai
  4. ^ Israeli Author Wrote a Book on the 2020 Pandemic 23 Years Ago, Haaretz
  • Yaakov Shabtai at the Institute for the Translation of Hebrew Literature
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