When Literature Meets the Press: Trends in the Literary Supplements of Daily Newspapers in Israel, from the 1950s to the 1990s

Abstract

This paper examines trends and changes in the Israeli literary supplements, investigates the tense relationship between literature and the printed media, and outlines the social and cultural processes that literary supplements reflect and echo. The research analyzed a sample of 540 literary supplements published in five main newspapers in Israel over a period of fifty years, since the establishment of the state in 1948. In addition, twelve interviews were conducted with present and former editors of the literary supplements. Two main trends—one relates to "form" while the other to "matter"—can be identified in the literary supplements within the fifty years of Israel's statehood. The first trend is shrinkage in their size; the second trend can generally be referred to as "popularization." This has led to the inclusion of pulp literature in literary supplements. As a consequence, literary supplements are in transition from progressive "mini literary periodicals" that publish new works of young writers to a mid-stream conservative supplement that does not take risks.