COVID rules eased, Metulla Poetry Festival to be held in person
Annual event for poets and scribes — including A.B. Yehoshua, Nurit Zarchi and Erez Bitton — will take place over Shavuot in the northern town
Jessica Steinberg, The Times of Israel's culture and lifestyles editor, covers the Sabra scene from south to north and back to the center
The annual Metulla Poetry Festival is back this year, taking place over the Shavuot holiday, May 16-18, following last year’s online format due to the coronavirus.
In addition to famed Israeli scribes such as A.B. Yehoshua, poets Nurit Zarchi and Erez Bitton and at least a dozen other litterateurs, the festival will include events for young writers, an event about the differences and similarities between spoken work, poetry slams, hip-hop and rap, and a song marathon on Shavuot eve.
The event will also include an event in memory of poet Natan Zach, who died in November 2020. The closing event will be an award ceremony for Aaron Shabtai, a poet known for his Hebrew translations of Greek classics.
The event is produced by Jerusalem’s Confederation House, also known for its annual Oud Festival, with three days of events that are completely free.
Israel has lifted most of its coronavirus restrictions following its successful vaccination campaign, which has caused new virus cases in the country to drop to just dozens a day.
The Times of Israel Community.