English writers' cramp

Crippled by dwindling funds, the Israel Association of Writers in English is considering loosening criteria to increase membership and jump-start activities. However, some veteran members oppose the plan, favoring raising the bar instead.

Currently, the Association's membership committee will accept only writers and poets who have published two books or more. The annual fee for members - who number approximately 50 people - is NIS 75. "I think we have to consider making it easier for new members to join, and consider accepting more writers of professional literature," said Karen Alkalay-Gut of Tel Aviv University's English department, who chairs the association.

She says that sources of funding meant to encourage English-language writers in Israel have gradually dried up. Some money used to come from state-funded literary prizes worth tens of thousands of shekels, affording laureates periods of financial security that enabled them to focus on writing. One such source used to be the Absorption Ministry's Dulchin Prize, which was canceled a few years ago. Currently, the Absorption Ministry does not offer any special support to English writers. However, the ministry does provide a one-time grant of several hundred shekels to immigrant writers in all languages with publishing their first book.

"It's true we offer minimal support for writers, but with all due respect, we have people with more pressing needs," a ministry official told Anglo File. Tel Aviv University used to give grants to notable English writers, but no longer does this.

Another problem is the lack of office and meeting space. The association lost access to the Tel Aviv building owned by the Association of Hebrew Language Writers in Israel, which has run into financial difficulties of its own. In lieu of a permanent and dependable venue, the association has had to resort to other forums for meetings. One example is the Metula Poetry Festival which opened today. The event will include poetry readings in English by members of the association.

A rare source of income for English-language writers is the President's Prize for Literature, given to Israeli writers of prose in 12 languages. However, it is bestowed upon an English-language writer only once every six years. The last English-language writer to receive the NIS 20,000 award was U.S.-born poet Shirley Kaufman in 2007. "I didn't need the money because I have an independent source of income, but it was a great honor," she told Anglo File. Kaufman, who immigrated to Israel in 1973 after publishing a few books, says she believes an English-language writer would find it very difficult to make a name for him or herself abroad while living in Israel.

This reality, according to Alkalay-Gut, means that the threshold for membership in the organization should perhaps be lowered. Conceding the organization is "in a slump," the U.K.-born poet and singer, who grew up in the United States, says she wants to make the association into "a vibrant body with a wide membership." But South Africa-born writer, poet and veteran member of the association, Riva Rubin, opposes lowering acceptance standards. "If anything, standards need to be raised - not lowered," said Rubin, who won the President's Prize in 1999. She says the solution to its membership woes is for the association to raise its profile through holding more activities for its members.

Lois Michal Unger and her husband, Larry Unger - both U.S.-born poets - say the problem does not lie with the membership committee's standards, but with advertising the association. "Applicants are not being turned down," Larry Unger said. But Rubin says that she knows of at least one poet whose candidacy had been rejected.