Aharon Megged
Encyclopedia
Aharon Megged (born 1920; Hebrew year
5680) is an Israel
i author
and playwright
.
, and in 1926 immigrated with his parents to Mandate Palestine. He grew up in Ra'anana
, attending the Herzliya high school in Tel Aviv
. After graduation, he joined a Zionist pioneering youth movement, training at Kibbutz
Giv'at Brenner. He was a member of Kibbutz Sdot Yam
for twelve years.
Megged, along with a group of writer friends, founded the Masa literary weekly, and was its editor for fifteen years. He worked as a literary editor for the newspapers La-merhav and Davar
. From 1968 to 1971 he served as cultural attaché to the Israeli embassy in London
. In 1977/78 he was author-in-residence at the Center for Hebrew Studies affiliated with Oxford University. He made several lecture tours of the United States, and was also author-in-residence at the University of Iowa
.
He has published 35 books.
His plays have been performed at Habima, Ha-Ohel, and other theaters. His books have been translated into numerous languages and published in the United Kingdom
, the United States
, Argentina
, France
, and other countries.
Megged is married to author Ida Tsurit and is the father of author Eyal Megged and of Amos Megged
, a lecturer in history at the University of Haifa
.
Among his many other Israeli awards are the Brenner Prize
, the S.Y. Agnon Prize, and the Prime Minister's Prize.
Hebrew calendar
The Hebrew calendar , or Jewish calendar, is a lunisolar calendar used today predominantly for Jewish religious observances. It determines the dates for Jewish holidays and the appropriate public reading of Torah portions, yahrzeits , and daily Psalm reading, among many ceremonial uses...
5680) is an Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
and playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
.
Biography
Aharon Megged was born in 1920 in Włocławek, PolandPoland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, and in 1926 immigrated with his parents to Mandate Palestine. He grew up in Ra'anana
Ra'anana
Ra'anana is a city in the heart of the southern Sharon Plain of the Central District of Israel with a population of 68,300, . Ra'anana is bordered by Kfar Sava on the east and Herzliya on the southwest...
, attending the Herzliya high school in Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
. After graduation, he joined a Zionist pioneering youth movement, training at Kibbutz
Kibbutz
A kibbutz is a collective community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economic branches, including industrial plants and high-tech enterprises. Kibbutzim began as utopian communities, a combination of socialism and Zionism...
Giv'at Brenner. He was a member of Kibbutz Sdot Yam
Sdot Yam
Sdot Yam is a kibbutz in the Haifa District of Israel on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea.It was founded in 1936 and moved to its present site at the southern border of the ancient city and archeological ruins of Caesarea, in 1940...
for twelve years.
Megged, along with a group of writer friends, founded the Masa literary weekly, and was its editor for fifteen years. He worked as a literary editor for the newspapers La-merhav and Davar
Davar
Davar was a Hebrew-language daily newspaper published in the Mandate Palestine and Israel between 1925 and May 1996.-History:Davar was established by Moshe Beilinson and Berl Katznelson, with Katznelson as its first editor. The first edition was published on 1 June 1925 under the name Davar - Iton...
. From 1968 to 1971 he served as cultural attaché to the Israeli embassy in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. In 1977/78 he was author-in-residence at the Center for Hebrew Studies affiliated with Oxford University. He made several lecture tours of the United States, and was also author-in-residence at the University of Iowa
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...
.
He has published 35 books.
His plays have been performed at Habima, Ha-Ohel, and other theaters. His books have been translated into numerous languages and published in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, and other countries.
Megged is married to author Ida Tsurit and is the father of author Eyal Megged and of Amos Megged
Amos Megged
Amos Megged , PhD , is a senior lecturer in general history at the University of Haifa, Israel. He was an editorial board member of the Colonial Latin American Historical Review.-Recent publications:*Social Memory in Ancient and Colonial Mesoamerica...
, a lecturer in history at the University of Haifa
University of Haifa
The University of Haifa is a university in Haifa, Israel.The University of Haifa was founded in 1963 by Haifa mayor Abba Hushi, to operate under the academic auspices of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem....
.
Awards
- In 1974, Megged won the Bialik PrizeBialik PrizeThe Bialik Prize is an annual literary award given by the municipality of Tel Aviv, Israel for significant accomplishments in Hebrew literature. The prize is named in memory of Hayyim Nahman Bialik. There are two separate prizes, one specifically for "Literature", which is in the field of fiction,...
for his books The Evyatar Notebooks: a novel and Of Trees and Stones.
- In 2003, he was awarded the Israel PrizeIsrael PrizeThe Israel Prize is an award handed out by the State of Israel and is largely regarded as the state's highest honor. It is presented annually, on Israeli Independence Day, in a state ceremony in Jerusalem, in the presence of the President, the Prime Minister, the Knesset chairperson, and the...
, for literature.
Among his many other Israeli awards are the Brenner Prize
Brenner Prize
The Brenner Prize is an Israeli literary prize awarded annually by the Hebrew Writers Association in Israel and the Haft Family Foundation.It was founded in the name of the author Yosef Haim Brenner and was first awarded in 1945....
, the S.Y. Agnon Prize, and the Prime Minister's Prize.
Sources
- "אהרון מגד" (Aharon Megged) in the Hebrew-language Wikipedia. Retrieved June 3, 2005.
See also
- List of Bialik Prize recipients
- List of Israel Prize recipients