Geldman, Mordechai
GELDMAN, MORDECHAI
GELDMAN, MORDECHAI (1946– ), Hebrew poet. Geldman was born in Germany and has lived in Tel Aviv since the age of three. He obtained a B.A. in literature and an M.A. in clinical psychology and worked as a psychotherapist. Geld-man began publishing poetry in 1966 and his first poetry collection Zeman ha-Yam u-Zeman Ha-Yabbashah ("Sea Time, Land Time") appeared in 1970. This was followed by the collections: Ẓippor (1975), Ḥalon ("Window," 1980), 66–83 (1983), Milano (1988), 'Ayin ("Eye," 1993), Sefer Sheal ("Book of Ask," 1997), Shir ha-Lev ("The Song of the Heart," 2004). Geldman's highly personal, often narcissist poetry, highlights the dialectics of the hidden and the overt, describes male-friendship and erotic attraction and reflects on dependence and loneliness. A Geldman poem accompanied by nine etchings by Moshe Gershuni appeared in 1997 under the title Time. Geldman also wrote two non-fiction books: "Dark Mirror" (1995) and Sifrut u-Psikhologiyyah ("Psychoanalytic Criticism," 1998). He published the collection Shir ha-Lev in 2004. Individual poems have been translated into a number of languages and information is available at the ithl website, www.ithl.org.il.
bibliography:
A. Barkai, "Mas'a Toda'ati," in: Al ha-Mishmar (December 19, 1980); Z. Shamir, in: Maariv (October 17, 1980); Sh. Levo, "Shirat ha-Tavvas she-Avad ve-Nimẓa, in: Davar (January 30, 1981); A. Feinberg, "M. Geldman's Poetry," in: Modern Hebrew Literature, 7 (1982); N. Calderon, "Ḥamesh Reshimot," in: Siman Keriah, 15 (1982), 20–37; G. Moked, "Izzun al gabbei Ḥevel Matu'aḥ," in: Akhshav, 47/48 (1983), 66–68; M. Knei-Paz, "Le-Karev et ha-Raḥok," in: Yedioth Aharonoth (July 13, 1984); Y. Ben David, "Ha-Meshorer ke-Ẓoref Zahav," in: Ahavah mi-Mabbat Sheni (1997), 199–205; U. Hollander, in: Haaretz (Feb. 18, 2004).
[Anat Feinberg (2nd ed.)]