SOURCE: Gold, Nili Rachel. “Flowers, Fragrances, and Memories: The Different Functions of Plant Images in Amichai's Later Poetry.” Hebrew Studies XXXIII (1992): 71-92.

In the following essay, Gold discusses the recurring imagery of plants and flowers in Amichai's poetry.

Although Yehuda Amichai won the prestigious Israel Prize for the “revolution he created in Hebrew poetry,”¹ his later poetry, from 1968 to date,² has been neglected or even ignored by academic studies and largely denounced by reviewers. His early work (1948-1968)³ which received great attention at the time of its publication⁴ has been hailed as the Amichai canon. This article seeks to demonstrate the significance of Amichai's later poetry and to argue that these poems should be considered integral to his literary achievement.⁵

Amichai's work from the late 1970s and 1980s is characterized by an intensified command of poetic language and devices. His voice becomes more suggestive and individualized. This turn...