Subject: The Poems of
Niv Sefatayyim by Joseph Zark and his Circle: Hebrew Literary Culture in 15th Century Italy
Supervisor: Dr. Jonathan Vardi
Abstract: During the 15th century, while Europe is swept by the Renaissance, numerous Jews of various origins immigrate to Italy. Hebrew writers from Ashkenaz, Provence and Spain, alongside their coreligionists of the local Italian communities, combine trends and traditions, composing a literature that merges the religious and the secular, the old and the contemporary, the imported and the local.
My research begins with "Niv Sefataim (“Fruit of the Lips”), a collection of over 120 poems written by Yosef Zark, an immigrant from Spain, and his circle of associates in northern Italy. Through the network of relationships and exchanges reflected in this collection, I examine the history and poetics of 15th-century Hebrew poetry in Italy.
Bio: A graduate student in the department of Hebrew literature. I have studied my B.A. and M.A. in Jerusalem, first in Hebrew literature and Philosophy, later specializing in Medieval literature. I work mainly on Hebrew poetry written in Medieval and Renaissance Italy, and maintains an interest in analytic theories of literature and the philosophy of imagination.
President Stipend 2021/22
MA Alumni 2019/20
