Overview

""Merav Fima's splendid debut is an homage to the magic of the city of Jerusalem, interlinked through the lives and art of the women who shaped Israel's cultural heritage."" Zsolt Alapi, author of My Brother's Keeper Ten women. All of them migrants. All of them artists. A singular location: Jerusalem. Anna Ticho is a seasoned Viennese hostess who longs to start painting again, though the desolation of Jerusalem offers little inspiration. Even though Rachel is gaining a reputation as the national poetess, she is ostracized by her colleagues due to her illness. Young Zelda struggles to reconcile her artistic aspirations with her family's religious observance. Else is persecuted by the Nazis as a ""degenerate artist,"" only to be ridiculed by her peers once she escapes to Jerusalem. Inspired by historical figures, these are among the characters who reappear in this collection of linked short stories. Meeting at Ticho House to share their creative work and discuss the difficulties of writing and painting in a new and unfamiliar environment, language, and culture, these women shaped the emerging State of Israel's literary, artistic, cultural, and intellectual scenes. Late Blossoms captures a vivid image of Jerusalem, past and present, through the eyes of its diverse inhabitants, specifically historical and contemporary migrant women artists, while exploring such universal challenges as childlessness and unrequited love, as well as discrimination by the patriarchal literary and artistic establishments of their time.

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9780645436594

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Reviews

""A richly imagined exploration of the lives of women artists in Israel... Fima conjures the private reckonings of some of the country's most iconic painters and poets... rendered lovingly against the vivid backdrop of Jerusalem."" - Joan Leegant, author of Displaced Persons and other works ""Brings six acclaimed Jewish women writers to life. Fima renders these visitors and immigrants to Mandate Palestine as real as the trees and flowers in Anna Ticho's garden."" - Judy Lev, author of Bethlehem Road: Stories of Immigration and Exile ""An exquisite collection... poetic, like its subject matter... invites the reader into the experiences of Jewish women creating art."" - Elise Esther Hearst, author of One Day We're All Going to Die ""Such lovely language! And Anna is a great character."" - Ayelet Tsabari, author of The Best Place on Earth, The Art of Leaving, and Songs for the Brokenhearted ""An homage to the magic of Jerusalem... through the lives and art of women who shaped Israel's heritage... so simple yet refined; restrained yet passionate."" - Zsolt Alapi, author of The Dance of the Seven Dwarfs, Landscape with the Fall of Icarus, and My Brother's Keeper ""Fima brings to life Jerusalem and the stories of women who contributed to its mythology through their art... an ambitious and enchanting book."" - Lee Kofman, author of The Writer Laid Bare, The Dangerous Bride, and Imperfect ""A literary salon where stories engage across decades... Jewish women artists in Jerusalem, real and imagined."" - Ilana Kurshan, author of If All the Seas Were Ink ""Meditations on love - of art, of country, of man - and what it means to be a woman in love."" - Gila Fine, author of The Madwoman in the Rabbi's Attic ""Poignant vignettes of women who shaped pre-State Jerusalem... vivid portraits of significant moments rooted in strength and imagination."" - Timna Seligman, Senior Curator of Ticho House, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem ""Six female artists are connected by Anna Ticho and her salon... beautiful access points to the author's imagination."" - David Reifler, author of Days of Ticho: Empire, Mandate, Medicine and Art in the Holy Land ""Stories of Jewish women writers, poets, and painters... Fima sketches with delicate, incisive brushstrokes... centered on Ticho House."" - Prof. Ilana Rosen, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev ""Beautifully crafted words... courageous women navigating language, loss, and artistic triumphs."" - Petre Santry, artist and scholar ""A magical story... weaving Ladino language and poetry... rich ancient sources and poetic detail."" - Arnold Zable, author of Jewels and Ashes, Violin Lessons, The Fig Tree, and Café Scheherazade ""Fima creates for modern Jewish women artists 'a meeting and a dialogue'... fascinating insight and original translations of Hebrew poems."" - Prof. Chanita Goodblatt, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

Author Information

Merav Fima is a writer, translator, and literary scholar based in Melbourne, Australia. She holds a Ph.D. in Creative Writing from Monash University and her work has appeared in anthologies and literary journals worldwide, including: Meanjin Quarterly, Parchment, Poetica Magazine, and The Australian Book Review. She was awarded a grant for exceptionally talented writers, as well as for her translation of Gal Ventura's scholarly monograph, Maternal Breast-Feeding and Its Substitutes in Nineteenth-Century French Art (Brill, 2018). Several of her short stories have been honored in literary contests, and her forthcoming novel, The Rose of Thirteen Petals and the Pomegranate Tree, was shortlisted for the Wingate Award for Unpublished Manuscripts. Visit meravfima.com.

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