Roy Hasan

Roy Hasan was born in 1983 in Hadera

Roy Hasan was born on 9 April 1983 in Hadera, the eldest child of Aharon and Dalia. His father's family was of Tripolitan origin and his mother is of Moroccan origin. The family lived in a lower-class neighborhood and faced hardship, and as a teenager he worked with his father in a vegetable shop.

He began writing poetry as a teenager. He started his public activity as a columnist for local Yedioth Tikshoret papers and played in punk rock and hip hop bands. He is active in the Ars Poetica and Guerrilla Tarbut groups and the Cafe Gibraltar website.

His 2014 poem "State of Ashkenaz" in Haaretz drew public debate. His poetry is seen as part of a Mizrahi protest against the Ashkenazi political and literary establishment. His first book appeared in 2015 and won the Bernstein Prize, and his second book, "Zahav Arayot", came out in 2017.

In 2017 he began co-hosting a weekly culture show on Kan Tarbut with Shlomi Hatuka. He lives in Hadera, is married and has daughters.