Nava Semel facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Nava Semel
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
Nava Artzi
September 15, 1954 Jaffa, Israel
|
| Died | December 2, 2017 (aged 63) |
| Occupation | Author, playwright, screenwriter |
| Spouse(s) | Noam Semel |
| Children | 3 |
| Parent(s) | Yitzhak Artzi |
| Relatives | Shlomo Artzi (brother) Meir Shapiro (great-uncle) |
Nava Semel (Hebrew: נאוה סמל; September 15, 1954 – December 2, 2017) was a famous Israeli writer. She wrote many books, plays, and screenplays. She was known for being one of the first writers in Israel to talk about the "Second Generation." This term refers to children of people who survived the Holocaust. Her book Hat of Glass was very important for this topic.
Contents
Nava Artzi was born in Jaffa, Israel. Her father, Yitzhak Artzi, was a politician. He was a member of the Knesset, which is like Israel's parliament. Her mother, Mimi, survived the Auschwitz concentration camp during the Holocaust. Nava's older brother is the well-known Israeli singer Shlomo Artzi.
Nava studied art history at Tel Aviv University. She earned a master's degree there. She married Noam Semel, who was a director at the Cameri Theatre in Tel Aviv. They had three children together. Nava Semel lived in Tel Aviv, Israel, for most of her life.
Nava Semel wrote 16 books, plays, and screenplays. She also wrote poems and translated works for the Hebrew stage. Her novel And the Rat Laughed was even turned into an opera in 2005.
Her writing often focused on the "second generation." These are the children of Holocaust survivors in Israel. Her characters were born in Israel. They often explored their own identity. They also dealt with the lasting effects of the painful past.
Public Work and Activism
Nava Semel was involved in several important organizations. She was a board member at Massuah. This is an institute for Holocaust studies. She also served on the Board of Governors for Yad Vashem for many years. Yad Vashem is Israel's official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. She also helped guide the "New Foundation for Television and Cinema."
Awards and Special Recognition
Nava Semel received many awards for her writing.
- In 1996, she won the Prime Minister's Prize for Hebrew Literary Works.
- She received "The Women Writers of the Mediterranean Award" in France in 1994.
- In 2006, she was named "Woman of the Year in Literature of the City of Tel Aviv."
Published Books and Stories
Nava Semel wrote different kinds of books.
Fiction Books
- Poems of Pregnancy and Birth (1985): A collection of poems.
- Hat of Glass (1985): This was the first Israeli book to focus on children of Holocaust survivors. It was translated into German, Italian, and Romanian.
- Paper Bride (1996): A novel that was also published in Romania and Germany. It was a finalist for a German young adult book award.
- Becoming Gershona (1991): A novel for young adults. It won the National Jewish Book Award in the United States. This book was translated into several languages and made into a TV show in Israel.
- Night Games (1994): Another novel.
- Flying Lessons (1995): This novel tells the story of a Holocaust survivor from Tunisia. He teaches an Israeli girl how to fly. It was chosen as one of the best young adult novels in Germany. It was translated into many languages and adapted for Israeli television. In 2009, it became an opera.
- Who Stole the Show? (1997): A children's book that won an award for illustrated books. It was also made into a TV series.
- Night Poems (2000): A collection of poems for young people about darkness and fears.
- And the Rat Laughed (2001): A novel that received great reviews. It was published in Germany and Australia. It was also turned into an opera.
- The Courage to be Afraid (2005): Another poetry collection for young people about fears. Some of these poems were set to music.
- IsraIsland (2006): A novel.
- Beginner's Love (2006): A young adult book. It was published in Italy, the Czech Republic, and Germany. It won the "Best 7" award from German Radio.
- Australian Wedding (2009): A story that includes parts of her own life.
Plays and Screenplays
Nava Semel also wrote for the stage and screen.
Stage Works
- An Old Woman (1983): A play for one actor about the life of elderly people.
- The Child behind the Eyes (1986): A play for one actor that was performed for 11 years in Israel. It was also made into radio plays in many countries and won an award in Austria. It was performed in cities like Rome, New York, and Prague.
- An Old Man (2003): Another play for one actor.
- And the Rat Laughed (2005): An opera based on her novel. It was performed in Israel, Poland, and Canada. Nava Semel and the composer won an award for this opera.
- Sneaking into the Bible (2005): A series of songs based on stories from the Bible.
- There in the World That Is New (2008): A short musical piece about a girl's journey to Israel after the Holocaust.
- Ballad of Three Prophets (2008): A ten-minute musical piece about three different faiths.
Screen Works
- The Last Winter (1983): She wrote parts of the dialogue for this Israeli-American movie.
- Hunger (1989): A radio play based on one of her short stories.
- Saying Kaddish and Leave (1999): A screenplay for a documentary about the Holocaust of Jews in Romania.
- Thousand Calories (2002): A TV drama.
- Whereabouts Unknown (2010): A TV drama about new immigrants arriving in Israel in 1949.
