Amir Or<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Poetics of Conflict and Vision<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/font><\/font><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/font><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n The Helicon Hebrew-Arabic Poetry School<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/font><\/font><\/p>\n <\/p>\n (Published in PN Review<\/strong>, UK, 179 January-February 2008)<\/span><\/font><\/font><\/p>\n \n <\/font><\/p>\n <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n 1<\/font><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n The unique complexity of Israeli society and culture is<\/span> <\/span><\/strong>at times fascinating, at times unbearable. Now it seems to be a bridge, now a<\/span> <\/span><\/strong>limbo, at the point where East and West meet<\/span>. <\/span><\/strong>Israel <\/span>has about 4.5 millions Jewish citizens<\/span> <\/span><\/strong>whose families emigrated from Europe and<\/span> <\/span><\/strong>Russia <\/span>after <\/span>World War II, about 3 millions Jewish citizens whose families emigrated or fled<\/span> <\/span><\/strong>from Arab countries in the 1950's, and 1.2 millions Arab citizens, subdivided<\/span> <\/span><\/strong>into Moslem, Christian and Druze. Hebrew and Arabic are both Semitic languages<\/span>, <\/span><\/strong>and Eastern culture is to a large extent shared by half<\/span> <\/span><\/strong>Israel’<\/span>s<\/span> <\/span><\/strong>population, including Jews and Arabs<\/span>.<\/span><\/strong><\/font><\/p>\n On the other hand<\/span> <\/span><\/strong>Israel<\/span> <\/span><\/strong>is a modern state, its<\/span> <\/span><\/strong>founders European by origin, upbringing, ideology and mentality. Consequently<\/span>, <\/span><\/strong>if you watch the Israeli condition in real life, it's ambivalent: Israelis and<\/span> <\/span><\/strong>Palestinians may fight, but at the same time they have a lot in common. For<\/span> <\/span><\/strong>sixty years Israeli Jews and Arabs have shared a society and culture that are<\/span> <\/span><\/strong>liberal and democratic; since<\/span> <\/span><\/strong>Israel<\/span> <\/span><\/strong>became independent, its<\/span> <\/span><\/strong>Palestinian and Eastern Jewish citizens have interiorized free democratic<\/span> <\/span><\/strong>values, more than anywhere in the<\/span> <\/span><\/strong>neighbouring<\/span> <\/span><\/strong>Arab states<\/span> <\/span><\/strong>whose culture they share. And have you noticed? Often the two sides of a<\/span> <\/span><\/strong>conflict become more and more similar over the years, like husband and wife<\/span>. <\/span><\/strong>Characteristically, other Arabs currently call Palestinians “the Jews of the<\/span> <\/span><\/strong>Arab world<\/span>”.<\/span><\/strong><\/font><\/p>\n <\/font><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n 2<\/font><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Now, what has all this to do with poetry? Not much if you<\/span> <\/span><\/strong>consider poetry an old-fashioned form of artistic amusement. If you look at<\/span> <\/span><\/strong>poetry as an art that deals primarily with speech and thought, however, much<\/span> <\/span><\/strong>more is entailed. Poetry has provided society with a sense of existential<\/span> <\/span><\/strong>meaning beyond dry facts, and an ability to touch the essence of life. This<\/span> <\/span><\/strong>remains the case with both Hebrew and Arabic poetries in their respective<\/span> <\/span><\/strong>societies<\/span>.<\/span><\/strong><\/font><\/p>\n This understanding was at the root of my vision when<\/span> <\/span><\/strong>founding Helicon Poetry Society in 1990. As I see it, an important factor in<\/span> <\/span><\/strong>widening or narrowing the spiritual capacities of a society is its attitude<\/span> <\/span><\/strong>towards artistic creativity and creative imagination. A society that fails in<\/span> <\/span><\/strong>the field of art and literature can become mentally fossilized and harmed in its<\/span> <\/span><\/strong>capacity for self-renewal and rejuvenation. After all, the story of human<\/span> <\/span><\/strong>evolution is in fact the history of creative ideas: each human achievement<\/span> <\/span><\/strong>begins in the imagination. A poet creates with the most primal materials. His or<\/span> <\/span><\/strong>her works serve to enhance and revision the world in which we live. A poetic<\/span> <\/span><\/strong>insight can renew perceptions of reality and suggest new patterns for<\/span> <\/span><\/strong>development. Whether the poet is conscious of it or not, by creative adventure<\/span> <\/span><\/strong>he or she creates the mental future. Poetry touches a basic set of potentials we<\/span> <\/span><\/strong>share: thought and feeling, imagination, the sense of beauty and freedom. In our<\/span> <\/span><\/strong>country, split<\/span> <\/span><\/strong>culturally, socially and<\/span> <\/span><\/strong>politically, poetry has an additional role: with its power of elevation, it may<\/span> <\/span><\/strong>be able to bridge between worlds and reduce<\/span> <\/span><\/strong>the distance between cultures. If it could fulfill this potential, it<\/span> <\/span><\/strong>might contribute to the realization<\/span> <\/span><\/strong>of the peace for which our region strives<\/span>.<\/span><\/strong><\/font><\/p>\n <\/font><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n 3<\/font><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Helicon Poetry Society is a non-profit organization<\/span> <\/span><\/strong>founded in 1990 with ambitious visions and objectives: 1. To be the forerunner<\/span> <\/span><\/strong>of nurturing poetic culture in Israel; 2. To bring poetry to new audiences; 3.To<\/span> <\/span><\/strong>supply a permanent and appropriate platform for poets and their poetry; 4. 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