Uri Orlev
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Uri Orlev(Hebrew:אורי אורלב;24 February 1931 – 26 July 2022) bornJerzy Henryk Orłowski,was a Polish-born Israeli children's author and translator. He received theHans Christian Andersen Awardin 1996 for his "lasting contribution to children's literature", the Prime Minister's Prize for Hebrew Literary Works in 1972 and theBialik Prizefor literature in 2006.
Biography[edit]
Uri Orlev was born in 1931 inWarsaw,Poland, the son of a physician. DuringWorld War II,his father was taken captive by the Russians and he lived with his mother in theWarsaw Ghettountil she was killed by theNazis.A relative hid him and his brother in the ghetto until he was caught by the Germans and deported to theBergen-Belsen concentration campin 1943. As a prisoner in Bergen-Belsen, he wrote and recited poetry which would later be published byYad Vashemin 2005. Hesurvived the Holocaustand was liberated by the British Army in 1945. He and his brother emigrated to Israel and were placed in kibbutzGinegar.They were joined by their father in 1954. After finishing high school on the kibbutz, Orlev served in theIsrael Defense Forcesas an infantryman. Upon completing his regular military service, Orlev returned to the kibbutz and began working in the cowsheds. He continued to serve as a reservist and subsequently fought in theSuez Crisis,Six-Day War,andYom Kippur War.[1][2]
While living and working at Ginegar, Orlev began imagining short stories. He typically spent his weekends travelling to and fromHaifato watch movies there along with a German-born kibbutznik named Shlomo. During their bus rides, Orlev told Shlomo his stories, who urged him to write them down. After writing a rough draft, Orlev was granted permission by the kibbutz to spend a year with the family of Eliyahu Soloveitchik, a man he'd met in Bergen-Belsen who was living near Haifa. While there, he continued writing his manuscript, which would become his bookThe Lead Soldiers.He returned to Ginegar where he resumed his cowshed work and had the book published in 1956.[2]
In 1968, Orlev and his family moved to theYemin Mosheneighborhood ofJerusalem.[2]He began writingchildren's literatureas a profession and ended up publishing over 30 books, which are often biographical, about his childhood duringthe Holocaustor his early years in Israel, and from an accessible perspective for children. His books have been translated fromHebrewinto 36 languages. Among his more famous works areRun, Boy, Run,The Island on Bird StreetandThe Lead Soldiers.[1]
He was also a translator ofPolish literatureintoHebrew,such asQuo VadisbyHenryk Sienkiewicz.
Orlev appeared in the documentary film "Life is Strange" where he was interviewed about his books and life before World War II.
Orlev was twice married and had two sons, a daughter, and four grandchildren.[2]One of his sons, Itamar Orlev, is also a writer and made his debut with the novelBanditin 2015.[3]
He died on 26 July 2022.[1]
Awards and critical acclaim[edit]
The biennialHans Christian Andersen Awardconferred by theInternational Board on Books for Young Peopleis the highest recognition available to a writer or illustrator of children's books. Orlev received the writing award in 1996.[4][5]The jury stated:[citation needed]
Uri Orlev's experience as a Jewish boy in war-torn Poland is the background of this outstanding writer for children. Whether his stories are set in the Warsaw ghetto or his new country Israel, he never loses the perspective of the child he was. He writes at a high literary level, with integrity and humor, in a way which is never sentimental, exhibiting the skill to say much in few words. Uri Orlev shows how children can survive without bitterness in harsh and terrible times.
In 1972, he received thePrime Minister's Prize for Hebrew Literary Works.In 2006, he was awarded theBialik Prizeforliterature(jointly withRuth AlmogandRaquel Chalfi).[6]
In the U.S., four books by Orlev have won theBatchelder Awardin English-language translations by Hillel Halkin published byHoughton Mifflin.The annualAmerican Library Association awardrecognizes the "children's book considered to be the most outstanding of those books originally published in a foreign language in a foreign country, and subsequently translated into English and published in the United States". The four American titles wereThe Island on Bird Street,The Man from the Other Side,The Lady with the Hat,andRun, Boy, Run,published from 1984 to 2003 by Houghton Mifflin, eventually by its Walter Lorraine Booksimprint.[7]
Published works[edit]
Book name | Hebrew name | Year | Publisher |
---|---|---|---|
Literature | |||
Till Tomorrow | עד מחר | 1958 | Am Oved |
The Last Summer Vacation | חופשת הקיץ האחרונה | 1968 | Daga |
Books for children and young adults | |||
The Lead Soldiers | חיילי עופרת | 1956 | Sifriyat Po'alim |
The Thing in the Dark | חיית החושך | 1976 | Am Oved |
It's Hard to Be a Lion | קשה להיות אריה | 1979 | Am Oved |
The Island on Bird Street | האי ברחוב הציפורים | 1981 | Keter |
The Wings Turn | תור הכנפיים | 1981 | Massada |
Big Brother | אח בוגר | 1983 | Keter |
The Dragon's Crown | כתר הדרקון | 1986 | Keter |
The Man from the Other Side | האיש מן הצד האחר | 1988 | Keter |
The Lady with the Hat | הגברת עם המגבעת | 1990 | Keter |
Lydia, Queen of Palestine | לידיה מלכת ארץ ישראל | 1991 | Keter |
A Mouthful of Meatball | קציצה מהצהריים | 1995 | Keter |
Last of Kin | רחוקי משפחה | 1996 | Keter |
The Sandgame | משחק החול | 1996 | Keter |
The Wandering Family | המשפחה הנודדת | 1997 | Keter |
The Song of the Whales | שירת הלוויתנים | 1997 | Keter |
Run, Boy, Run | רוץ, ילד, רוץ | 2001 | Keter |
Poems from Bergen-Belsen(1944) | שירים מברגן-בלזן | 2005 | Yad VaShem |
Picture books | |||
The Big-Little Girl illustrated by Jacky Gleich |
קטנה-גדולה | 1977 | Keter |
Noon Thoughts | מחשבות צהריים | 1978 | Sifriyat Po'alim |
A Hole in the Head | משגעת פילים | 1979 | Keter |
Siamina illustrated byDavid Gerstein |
סיאמינה | 1979 | Am Oved |
The Lion Shirt / A Lion for Michael illustrated by Jacky Gleich |
חולצת האריה | 1979 | Massada |
The Black Cloud | הענן השחור | 1979 | Massada |
How Mr. Cork Made the Brain Work | מעשה במנוח שהפעיל את המוח | 1979 | Massada |
The Good-Luck Pacifier illustrated by Jacky Gleich |
מוצץ המזל | 1980 | Am Oved |
Granny Knits illustrated by Ora Eytan |
סבתא סורגת | 1980 | Massada |
Mr. Mayor | ראש העיר תן לשיר | 1980 | Massada |
How to Be Four | מסע לגיל ארבע | 1985 | Am Oved |
On the Wrong Side of the Bed | על צד שמאל | 1985 | Keter |
Hairy Tuesday illustrated by Jacky Gleich |
חפיפת ראש | 1988 | Keter |
Awards[edit]
- 1992:National Jewish Book AwardforThe Man From the Other Side[8]
References[edit]
- ^abc"Uri Orlev, acclaimed author of children's Holocaust books, dies at 91".Times of Israel.26 July 2022.
- ^abcd"Veterans: Uri Orlev: From Brussels to Atlit".
- ^https://msur.es/2019/12/11/itamar-orlev-bandido/MSur
- ^ "Hans Christian Andersen Awards".International Board on Books for Young People(IBBY). Retrieved 2 August 2013.
- ^
"Uri Orlev"(pp. 94–95, by Eva Glistrup).
The Hans Christian Andersen Awards, 1956–2002.IBBY.Gyldendal.2002. Hosted byAustrian Literature Online.Retrieved 2013-08-02. - ^"Ceremony for the award of 2006 Bialik Prize (in Hebrew), Tel Aviv Municipality website".Archived fromthe originalon 13 July 2019.Retrieved1 October2009.
- ^ "Welcome to the (Mildred L.) Batchelder Award home page".Association for Library Service to Children.American Library Association. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
- ^"Past Winners".Jewish Book Council.Retrieved19 January2020.
External links[edit]
- Biography & Bibliographyfrom theInstitute for the Translation of Hebrew Literature
- 1931 births
- 2022 deaths
- Israeli children's writers
- Israeli Jews
- Polish children's writers
- Polish emigrants to Israel
- Polish male writers
- Israeli people of Polish-Jewish descent
- Writers from Warsaw
- Hans Christian Andersen Award for Writing winners
- Warsaw Ghetto inmates
- Bergen-Belsen concentration camp survivors
- Recipients of Prime Minister's Prize for Hebrew Literary Works