Take a Breath, You're Getting Excited

Take a Breath catapults you right into the frenzy spiral of Yakir Ben-Moshe's dating life. Against the backdrop of violence, war, and trauma that has always permeated Israeli society and shaped the personal as well as the political discourse, the round dance of lovers entering and exiting and re-entering the poet's life takes on a timeless quality. The passionate vows and furious arguments between Ben-Moshe and his girlfriends, their break-ups and lovemaking in sweltering and noisy Tel Aviv are both a respite from and a mirror of the upheaval and breathlessness of day-to-day life in a country whose citizens constantly expect the unexpected. Their longing for simplicity, their solitude and clamoring for attention, their wit, self-doubt and cynicism all become tangible in Dan Alter's brilliant, playful, and vibrant translation.