I spent the evening listening to a zoom about Amihai.  It has been a long time since I’ve listened to his poems – especially by such loving readers and such an admiring audience.  Hundreds of people listening to analyses, commenting on lines and sources, reminding the world of how much controversy about the Hebrew language he evoked, and how much he changed the face of literature.

I’m not good at listening to people talk lately, but Amichai’s humanism struck me deeply – again.  I remembered how much I enjoyed reading with him at the Nassau county museum, at the Library of Congress, at the U.S. Cultural Center in Tel Aviv, how much both of us enjoyed our meals together, our visits.  The last time I spoke with him we made plans to meet in New York for lunch.  And then he disappeared.  And I couldn’t find him.  And then he was gone.

His poetry reminds me of what it is like to be a human being.  I tend to forget it in today’s environment.