Helicon School of Poetry

Abstract

Israel In Ancient Greece, through the Middle Ages and well into the Renaissance, there used to be schools for poetry. Broadening a poet's horizons and familiarising him with various styles and techniques can only enrich their poetic ‘tool-box’. The Helicon Poetry Society, founded in 1990, already had a journal, a book series and other projects that could be felt in the cultural discourse in Israel. In 1993 I started to formulate the concept, develop our poetry teaching methodology and form the staff of the Helicon School of Poetry.My objectives included fostering the next generation of poets but also bringing people closer through poetry and spreading the message. We select 16 participants each year on full scholarship, to ensure participation is awarded on the basis of merit only. The programme is based on six monthly residential weekend sessions in an isolated setting. Within each session we have 6 classes: Fundamentals of Poetics, Writing Exercises, Poetry Aloud, Principles of Translation, Editing and Arabic–Hebrew Intertranslation. In addition, participants have private meetings with the instructors. After 13 years the multiplier effects include not only an important contribution of the Hebrew and Arabic new young poets, but also a revival of poetry in Israeli culture as a whole.