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The Voices Israel Group of Poets
in English started in response to a letter published in the
Jerusalem Post (July 1971) by Leslie Summers, a new immigrant poet
from England; he called on all those living in Israel and writing
poetry in English to contact him. The first meeting of Voices
Israel, held in August of 1971, was attended by the founding
members: Leslie Summers, Reuben Rose, Moshe Ben-Zvi and Jacob
Katwan. From this small beginning, with four members, Voices
Israel has grown and changed; today we are a registered non-profit
organization in Israel with an average membership of 120 poets and
interested persons in Israel and many other countries.
The goals of Voices Israel
are: providing an outlet for writers of English poetry in Israel,
encouraging new poets in their art, and promoting international
mutual relationships that give and take through poetry. To that
end, international members can submit their work to the Monthly
Poets Voice, and of course visit our local meetings when they
visit in Israel. Members read their work at the local meetings,
and attend and participate in workshops and public readings
arranged throughout the year. In addition, a yearly
anthology of poems is collated from poems submitted for
publication in the yearly anthology Voices
Israel. Submitted poems are carefully read and chosen by
an Editorial Committee. Voices Israel is now in its 26th
year of publication. Over the years poets from Israel and some 20
other nations have been represented. Both known (Dannie Abse, Shin
Shalom, Roger White, Gad Yaacobi, Alan Sillitoe, and Kathleen
Raine, to name a few) and unknown poets are selected.
In honor of Reuben Rose, who
provided the inspiration and laid the groundwork for Voices
Israel by fostering the organization for 18 years, we sponsor
the annual International Reuben Rose Memorial Poetry Competition.
Past judges in this competition include William Freedman, Karen
Alkalay-Gut, and Dannie Abse (UK).
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