Vol. 49 (2025): Criticism & Interpretation 49-50

Tuvia Rübner’s work is a remarkable phenomenon in the history of modern Hebrew poetry: it emerged simultaneously within two literary traditions, and in both Hebrew and German Rübner was recognized as a "local" poet. Yet despite this dual presence, the Hebrew Rübner remained largely unknown to German readers, while the German Rübner was scarcely known to Hebrew readers.

This double issue of Criticism and Interpretation seeks, for the first time, to bridge that gap in a volume devoted entirely to Rübner’s oeuvre. The essays gathered here examine not only his work itself, but also the ongoing dialogue between Hebrew and German culture, while addressing central questions in literary and cultural studies such as cultural migration, translation, and self-translation.

Another distinctive aspect of Rübner’s work is its constant movement — not only between languages and cultures, but also across artistic media. Rübner was also a gifted and perceptive photographer, and a special section of the volume is dedicated to his photography, curated by Guy Raz.

Among the highlights of this issue is the first publication of the correspondence between Tuvia Rübner and S.Y. Agnon, edited by Giddon Ticotsky and Ido Nitzan. Many of these letters, preserved in the National Library of Israel, concern Rübner’s German translations of Agnon’s works — translations that made a decisive contribution to Agnon’s winning the Nobel Prize in Literature.