Aharon Megged

Aharon Megged
אהרון מגד‎
Megged, 1952
Born	Aharon Greenberg (1920-08-10)10 August 1920 Włocławek, Poland
Died	23 March 2016(2016-03-23) (aged 95)
Occupations	Author Playwright Diplomat
Notable work	The Evyatar Notebooks: a novel, Of Trees and Stones
Spouse	Eda Zoritte
Children	2
Awards	Israel Prize (2003) Bialik Prize (1974) Brenner Prize S.Y. Agnon Prize Prime Minister's Prize

Megged, 1958

Megged's grave, Kinneret cemetery

Aharon Megged (Hebrew: אהרון מגד‎) (10 August 1920 – 23 March 2016) (Hebrew year 5680)^[1] was an Israeli author and playwright. In 2003, he was awarded the Israel Prize for literature.

Biography

Aharon Greenberg (later Megged) was born in Włocławek, Poland. In 1926, he immigrated with his parents to Mandate Palestine. He grew up in Ra'anana, attending Herzliya high school in Tel Aviv. After graduation, he joined a Zionist pioneering youth movement, training at Kibbutz Giv'at Brenner. He was a member of Kibbutz Sdot Yam for twelve years. He left the kibbutz in 1951.^[2]

Megged was married to author Eda Zoritte, with whom he had two children.

Literary career

Megged was one of the founders of the Masa literary weekly, and its editor for fifteen years. He worked as a literary editor for the Hebrew newspapers La-merhav and Davar. In 1977/78 he was author-in-residence at the Center for Hebrew Studies affiliated with the University of Oxford. He made several lecture tours of the United States, and was also author-in-residence at the University of Iowa. He published 35 books.

Megged's plays were performed at Habima, Ha-Ohel and other theaters. His books have been translated into numerous languages and published in the United Kingdom, the United States, Argentina, France, and other countries.

Diplomatic career

From 1968 to 1971, Megged was cultural attaché to the Israeli embassy in London.^[3]

Awards and recognition

• In 1974, Megged won the Bialik Prize for his books The Evyatar Notebooks: a novel and Of Trees and Stones.
• In 2003, he was awarded the Israel Prize, for literature.^[4][5]

Megged won the Brenner Prize, the S.Y. Agnon Prize, and the Prime Minister's Prize.

See also

• Hebrew literature
• List of Bialik Prize recipients
• List of Israel Prize recipients

References

1. International Who's Who of Authors and Writers 2004. Europa Publications. 2003. p. 380. ISBN 1857431790.
2. A friend of a friend, Jerusalem Post
3. A friend of a friend, Jerusalem Post
4. "Israel Prize Official Site (in Hebrew) – Recipient's C.V."
5. "Israel Prize Official Site (in Hebrew) – Judges' Rationale for Grant to Recipient".