Literatureשמעון הלקין

Simon Halkin

Simon Halkin was a Hebrew poet, novelist, translator and literary scholar who taught modern Hebrew literature at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

1898 to 1987Hebrew translation of Leaves of GrassHebrew poetry and novelsTeaching Hebrew literature in Jerusalem

Born: 28 October 1898, Doŭsk
Died: 19 November 1987, Jerusalem
Occupation: poet, translator, literary theorist, writer

Simon Halkin was born in 1898 in Doŭsk

Simon Halkin was born in 1898 to a Chabad family in Dovsk, in the Russian Empire, in an area now in Belarus. As a boy he moved with his family to the United States. His brother was the historian Abraham Halkin.

He studied in New York and finished his studies at New York University in 1928. From 1920, while still a student, he taught at Jewish institutions in the United States.

He first came to the Land of Israel in 1928 and taught at high schools in Tel Aviv, including English. In 1939 he returned to the United States and became a professor of Hebrew language and literature. In 1949 he moved to Jerusalem to serve as professor of modern Hebrew literature at the Hebrew University, where he headed the department for many years.

He wrote poetry, novels, stories and literary criticism, including the poetry book On the Island in 1946. He translated Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass into Hebrew, as well as works by Shakespeare, Shelley and Jack London.

After retiring he taught Jewish studies at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York. He lived in the Rehavia neighborhood of Jerusalem. He died in Jerusalem in 1987 and was buried at Har HaMenuchot.