Bracha Serri

Bracha Serri (in Hebrew: ברכה סרי; July 13, 1940 – April 25, 2013) was an Israeli poet, recipient of the Prime Minister's Literature Award for 1990.

Biography Serri was born in Sana'a, Yemen, to a religious Jewish family. Her father, Moshe ("Mosi") was a shopkeeper, and a student of Rabbi Yiḥyah Qafiḥ, leader of the Dor Daim religious stream. Her mother was Hamama, most of whose family already lived in Israel since 1932. Serri came to Israel at the age of 10 with her parents in Operation Magic Carpet. The family settled in the Yemenite neighborhood near Kiryat Ata. Serri has a BA an MA in Hebrew and Semitic Linguistics from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and worked researching Yemenite dialects, especially the language of women. Serri taught Hebrew to Palestinians from East Jerusalem (only recently conquered by Israel, in 1967), and initiated literacy campaigns in immigrant communities.

Writing Serri's writing focuses on several main subjects, including Judaism, Mizrahi identity, and political feminism. Her often overtly political and feminist poetry draws heavily on the metaphoric tradition of the great Yemenite poets, such as Shalom Shabazi. She wrote this story under a pen name, Pu'ah Meri-Dor, in her words, "out of embarrassment" because of the taboo subject.

At the core of Serri's writing are autobiographical foundations. One was her mother, who was uneducated, married young, and gave birth to 18 children. Serri wanted to empower women like her mother, and give them voice. She recalled that she wrote her poems for her mother, but was afraid that she would think Serri was mocking her when she handed her the published book. But to Serri, her mother was the first poet she knew. The women in Yemen, who led lives almost completely separate from the men, would sing or chant about their problems and feelings while doing household tasks, repeating and adding lines as they moved from chore to chore. It was only upon arriving in Israel, Serri said, that her mother fell silent.

Serri founded a publishing house, Ha'Or Ha'Ganuz, after her poems were rejected by the mainstream publishers, who published Ashkenazi poets almost exclusively.

Awards 1998 – New Immigrant Excellence Award 2009 – Prime Minister's Literature Award 2011 – Libi BaMizrach (My Heart is in the East) Special Commendation

Additional reading בסוד ברכה : יצירתה של ברכה סרי Be-sod Berakhah : Yetsiratah shel Berakhah SerriIn secret blessing : the poetry of Bracha Serri; Henriette Dahan Kalev; Jerusalem : Karmel, 2013.