Rafi Weichert hosted the evening, and as you can see he takes poetry really seriously, so I had to be alert.  The preparations were incredibly intense and a lot of people were involved – but there were so many others who would have been involved if we had had the time.  So one of my dreams came true – poetry went beyond language.  Now I can just relax and figure out how to expand this concept.  There are many well-beloved writers who anchor their work in the place they live – like Amichai and Mahfouz and Faulkner.  Sabena Messag writes about the places in Israel, and how to save the environment here and it is very moving – but I want poetry to save humanity, to save the planet.  

I know, I know, I’m sloppy and dyslexic and can never be a great writer, but I can still try.