Hannan Hever is the new Jacob and Hilda Blaustein Professor

Hannan Hever, newly appointed as the Jacob and Hilda Blaustein Professor of Hebrew Language and Literature, is a scholar of modern Hebrew literature.

Hever, whose research interests include the history of modern Hebrew poetry in Eretz Israel, joined the Yale faculty on July 1. Previously, he was a professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and served as chair of the School of Literatures at the Hebrew University.

He earned his B.A. in Hebrew literature and philosophy and his Ph.D. in Hebrew literature from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and did postdoctoral work at the University of California-Berkeley.

The author of over 60 book chapters and over 50 scientific articles, Hever has edited over 40 books, and has given almost 70 lectures at conferences and symposia around the world. He has been a visiting professor at Columbia University, Northwestern University, the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, and the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York.

Hever is the author of “Poets and Zealots: The Rise of the Political Hebrew Poetry in Eretz-Israel,” “The Flourishing of Silence: Readings in Avraham Ben-Ytzhak’s Poetry,” and “Captive of Utopia: Messianism and Poetry in Eretz-Israel Between the Two World Wars,” among others.

A member of numerous academic committees, Hever has been a referee for the Ph.D. review boards of Hebrew, Tel Aviv, Bar-Illan and Haifa universities, as well as the Universities of Columbia and Michigan-Ann Arbor. He has also been a referee for academic books and articles for a wide variety of publications.

Currently co-editor of Jerusalem Studies in Hebrew Literature, Hever is also a member of the editorial board of the periodical Theory and Criticism. He was awarded the Lea Goldberg Award for the best book on the study of Hebrew poetry.