Between Spanish and Hebrew Imaginaires: On Translating Lorca’s Poetry into Modern Hebrew

Federico García Lorca`s (1898-1936) poetry translations into Hebrew are an illustrative case of translation`s crucial role in building Israeli linguistic and literary fields throughout the 20th and 21 centuries. Raphael Eliaz`s translations of Lorca`s works (Plays | מחזות, 1956; Romancero Gitano | רומסרו צועני, 1958) are among the very first to be published, following a general shift of a hitherto extremely rigid linguistic and literary system. Henceforth, Spanish literature, which was on the edges of the modern Hebrew initial translation web, becomes more apparent and F.G. Lorca`s works see many editions by various translators–including Rafael Eliaz (1969), Rina Litvin (1989, 2001), and Rami Sa`ari (1999, 2002, 2019).

By tracing how Lorca`s literary art takes alternative forms and reshapes Spanish imaginaires in the Hebrew language, my lecture delineates the poet`s oeuvre over sixty years of translation and retranslation. I examine the development of language and poetry conventions as a reflection of modern forms of secularism that permeated Israel`s political sphere. I focus on the translations` linguistic form, each translator`s modus operandi, and the reciprocity of the texts with the given translation norms. Thus, assessing the texts as part of a classical tradition of translation and reinterpretation of texts, and subsequently addressing the question of reshaping Spanish imaginaires into Hebrew, often Sefaradi, ones.