Transfiguration

Haim Be’er

1970

In history class
I draw a Latin-American moustache
On Titus Aspasianus;
Miriam, who under her flannel shirt
Is beginning to show development,
Is making vulgar contours
Onto the sculpture of his bust,
And with one stroke
Transforms the royal diadem
That crowns his glory
To a rakish top hat.
The beloved of the human race
That heated his bath when he…
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Creator Bio

Haim Be’er

b. 1945
Author, poet, and editor, Haim Be’er was born in Jerusalem. His religious upbringing had a strong influence on his work, as is evident in his autobiographical book Ḥavalim (published in English as The Pure Element of Time). Jerusalem’s atmosphere and characters animate his fiction, and Be’er writes of dreamers, eccentrics, and wonder-struck adventurers who live as much in their imaginations as in reality. His devotion to literature and his playful, peculiar, sensitive writing have made him one of Israel’s most cherished and admired literary figures. Be’er was an editor at the Am Oved publishing house and teaches Hebrew Literature at Ben-Gurion University. In 2005, he was awarded the ACUM Prize for Lifetime Achievement.

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