Words At Large

Salman Rushdie hails him as “the voice of the next generation.” Award-winning Israeli author Etgar Keret has written graphic novels, plays and television scripts, but he’s best known for his quirky, fabulist short stories, which have been translated into 22 languages.

In this candid interview with CBC’s Paul Kennedy, at the Blue Metropolis International Literary Festival in Montreal, Keret explains why he feels he can best express himself in his mother tongue, the ancient language of Hebrew. He compares his writing style to the paradox that he says is reflective of modern Israel, a country that is so conservative that buses don’t run on the Sabbath, and yet so liberal that it once sent a transvestite to compete in the annual Eurovision Song Contest.

Keret’s stories are notable for their brevity; most are only a few pages long, but they pack a dramatic punch. In fact, many have been adapted into films. Wristcutters: A Love Story, which premiered at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival, was based on his story “Kneller’s Happy Campers,” and Keret himself has made the leap from writer to film director. His most recent film, Jellyfish, made in collaboration with his wife, the poet Shira Geffen, won the Caméra d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 2007.

Listen to his interview on the Words At Large podcast, where he talks about making Jellyfish and why creative collaboration is so important to him.

[runs 42:24]