A thorough, shrewd, and critical analysis. -Hamutal Tsamir, Ben Gurion University of the Negev
An extremely impressive piece of literary and historical scholarship... her close readings are apt and instructive; the readings of the Shlonsky poems range from deft to dazzling. -Robert Alter, University of California, Berkeley
One thing Israelis have mostly managed to agree on, lately, is the proper way to pronounce Hebrew. The language revivalists who transformed Hebrew into a modern spoken language called their new accent Sephardic (though it was only partly based on the speech of Sephardic Jews)-but at first, in the late 19th and early 20th century, most poets wouldn't write stanzas to fit the new pronunciation. Miryam Segal's 'A New Sound in Hebrew Poetry: Poetics, Politics, Accent' describes how this gradually changed, and how the new accent turn into the standard for everyone except for some Yiddishists, Hasids, and of course all those few well-intentioned Hebrew school alumni who speak Hebrew with New Jersey or Long Island accents. -Josh Lambert, The Tablet
In her recent study, A New Sound in Hebrew Poetry, the scholar Miryam Segal traces the impact of the decision to institutionalize Sephardi pronunciation in early-20th-century Palestine. -Jewish Ideas Daily
[A New Sound in Hebrew Poetry] is an exploration in depth of a linguistic phenomenon in which the cultural history of Zionism, the history of modern Hebrew literature, and the history of modern Hebrew prosody are conflated. Informed by a sophisticated understanding of the significance of prosodic developments, as well as by an innate and well trained sensitivity to the music of poetry, Miryam Segal's book will not be bypassed by serious historians of modern Hebrew literature and culture. -Dan Miron, Columbia University
Not only does Miryam Segal's A New Sound in Hebrew Poetry dare offer an answer to the perennial question posed by Hoelderlin: What are poets for? It also reveals, in the language of Hebrew poetry, the subtle layers of ars poetica operative within the remarkable renaissance of Jewish peoplehood.... On many levels, Segal's book is a welcome contribution to studies both of Hebrew ars poetica and of Zionism. -Nashim
... the book is informative and interesting... -Shofar, Vol. 29, No. 3 Spring 2011
Segal's insightful and carefully crafted work opens the door to a fresh way of exploring the evolvement of contemporary Hebrew. -H-Judaic
Her studies of the poetry are delightful... this will become the new standard on the history of this development. -Harry Fox, University of Toronto
Segal's careful, concise, and well-written study of the new accent's instauration in Palestinian Hebrew speech and poetry constitutes a significant contribution to the study of Zionism, as well as Hebrew linguistic and literary studies. -Philip Hollander, Zeek
