Introduction: Poetry in Israel: Forging Identity

The focus of this special issue is poetry—written in Israel during (and somewhat preceding) its Statehood—perceived as reflecting the worlds of poets in their personal, communal, ideological and poetic dimensions. This issue will focus on the ways in which poetry in Israel relates the stories, and expresses the positions, of individuals and groups who arrived from different countries (Europe, North Africa, Asia), lived through different experiences (the Holocaust, war, resettlement), and who express different cultures and religions (Jewish, Muslim).