T. Carmi

T. Carmi was born in 1925 in New York City

Carmi Charny was born in New York City in 1925. His father, Rabbi Baruch (Bernard) Charny, was a school principal, and the family spoke Hebrew at home. From 1931 to 1934 he attended the Balfour elementary school in Tel Aviv.

Back in New York he studied at Yeshiva University and earned a bachelor's degree in English and French literature. He began a master's degree at Columbia University but left to do humanitarian work in France. In 1946 and 1947 he worked there with Jewish orphans and children of war refugees.

He moved to the Land of Israel in October 1947 and studied Hebrew literature at the Hebrew University. In the War of Independence he joined the Haganah and fought in Jerusalem and at Latrun. He was discharged in October 1949 as a captain.

His first poetry book appeared in 1950, and he took the name T. Carmi at his publisher's request. He translated Shakespeare plays into Hebrew and edited The Penguin Book of Hebrew Verse. With his first wife, Shoshana Heyman, he wrote the children's book Shmulikipod under the name Kush.

He taught at the Hebrew University and Tel Aviv University, and from 1978 at Hebrew Union College in Jerusalem. In 1990 he shared the Bialik Prize with Pinchas Sadeh. He died of cancer in 1994 and was buried at Kibbutz Gan Shmuel.