The Spectacular Difference: Selected Poems of Zelda

First I have to give kudos to Marcia Falk for this translation of Zelda's poems. Having studied Hebrew I can appreciate the daunting task and the pressure to capture the excellency of these poems.This collection is one that can not help but cause the reader to look at the world around us with different eyes. Zelda Mishkovsky survived a lot during her lifetime and these poems reflect her passion for nature and things that we can control and those we have to accept. Her style, as many have said, is unique in her combining words we don't usually see together. These are poems meant to be read several times and with each reading a new insight will bless the reader.This must get five stars.

I love that the hebrew is included because if you're familiar with the religious context, even if you don't understand the full language, so much is revealed. I'm so grateful this was made available in English. A true treasure.

I encountered her poetry decades ago in the form of l'kal ish yesh shem" aka "Every man has a name" aka "Each of us has a name" [in Falk's brilliant translation].Translating is very hard. Maimonides [d. 1204] demanded that the translator render in the second language the clear meaning of the original in the first language. A word-by-word translation was an anathema to him. Translating Zelda as if she were writing modern Hebrew would also have done great violence to her work.You need to understand that Zelda frequently borrows from “biblical, talmudic midrashic, liturgical kabbalistic and Hasidic sources” [p, 5 and p. 260]" and that naming is a frequent theme in Pirkei Avot and many other places. I stand in awe of Falk's translation and really enjoyed her commentary on her contacts with Zelda and on the subtext of many of the poems

I sought out this volume in time for the holiday of Shavuot this year to provide a new kind of sacred revelation, and was not disappointed. Zelda's poems -- and Marcia Falk's translations -- have that magical combination of translucent accessibility plus layer upon intertwined layer of depth and allusion.The facing-page translation makes it much easier to explore those depths. These poems (most of them quite short) reward multiple re-readings and intensive study, just as with seforim kedoshim (holy works) of any century. The layout and physical production of the book is also a simple pleasure, inviting relaxed contemplation.

Marcia Falk has created a textured and rich translation of Zelda's poetry, here in this handsomely formatted bi-lingual edition. Falk allows the reader of English to catch a glimpse of the layered world of Zelda's Hebrew with the extremely helpful notes at the back of the book. Zelda's poems skip across worlds; they are by turns modern and archaic, religious and secular, mystic and orthodox. Falk's collection provides a good glimpse into this complex poet, her work and world.

I've never read the original Hebrew versions of these poems, but I really enjoyed Marcia Falk's translations. There is something mysterious and sublime about this work, and I'd recommend it to anyone, whether they think they're interested in Israeli literature or not. These poems seem to open windows into experiences at once ordinary and fantastic, and they contain a subtle power capable of moving the soul.

Not only are Zelda's poems "spectacular," but Marcia Falk's opening narrative is insightful and well-written. I would like to read more by Ms Falk. This is a terrific compilation.

This is the first and long-awaited translation of the renowned Israeli poet Zelda. These are powerful poems: profound, sensual, and deeply spiritual. The beauty of the original is not lost in translation: Marcia Falk's English versions are marvelous! Exemplary translation of an important poet.

Mystical imagery you won't be able to get out of you mind. There are 20 pages of notes at the back of the book that explain the biblical references in the poems. They are a course in the poetry of the Bible all by themselves.

A very special book of poems - more for the knowledgeable in Hebrew/English. Poignant in parts, possibly spiritually angled