Aharon Megged

Megged, 1952

Megged, 1958

Megged's grave, Kinneret cemetery

Aharon Megged(Hebrew:אהרון מגד‎) (10 August 1920 – 23 March 2016) (Hebrew year5680)was an Israeli author and playwright. In 2003, he was awarded theIsrael Prizefor literature.

Biography

Aharon Greenberg (later Megged) was born inWłocławek,Poland.In 1926, heimmigratedwith his parents toMandate Palestine.He grew up inRa'anana,attendingHerzliya high schoolinTel Aviv.After graduation, he joined a Zionist pioneering youth movement, training atKibbutzGiv'at Brenner.He was a member of KibbutzSdot Yamfor twelve years. He left the kibbutz in 1951.

Megged was married to authorEda Zoritte,with whom he had two children, Ayal Megged, also a writer, and Amos, a lecturer in history atUniversity of Haifa.

Literary career

Megged was one of the founders of theMasaliterary weekly, and served as its editor for fifteen years. He worked as a literary editor for theHebrewnewspapersLa-merhavandDavar.In 1977/78 he was author-in-residence at the Center for Hebrew Studies affiliated with theUniversity of Oxford.He made several lecture tours of the United States, and was also author-in-residence at theUniversity of Iowa.He published 35 books.

Megged's plays were performed atHabima,Ha-Oheland other theaters. His books have been translated into numerous languages and published in the United Kingdom, the United States,Argentina,France, and other countries.

Diplomatic career

From 1968 to 1971, Megged served as cultural attaché to the Israeli embassy in London.

Awards and recognition

• In 1974, Megged won theBialik Prizefor his booksThe Evyatar Notebooks: a novelandOf Trees and Stones.
• In 2003, he was awarded theIsrael Prize,for literature.

Megged won theBrenner Prize,the S.Y. Agnon Prize, and the Prime Minister's Prize.

See also

• Hebrew literature
• List of Bialik Prize recipients
• List of Israel Prize recipients