Sesto Pals (Simion Șestopali) | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1912 or 1913 Odessa |
| Died | October 27, 2002 (aged 89 or 90) Tel Aviv |
| Pen name | D. Amprent |
| Occupation | poet, philosopher, engineer, draftsman |
| Nationality | Romanian, Israeli |
| Period | 1930–2002 |
| Genre | lyric poetry, blank verse, prose poem, haiku, essay |
| Literary movement | unu, Expressionism, Surrealism |
Sesto Pals, pen name of Simion (also Simon, Semion) Șestopali (born Шестопаль, also rendered as S(h)estopal, Sestopaly, or Sestopali; ca. 1912 – October 27, 2002), was a Russian-born Romanian and Israeli writer. Primarily a poet-philosopher, he also earned recognition as a graphic artist. He first became known in his teenage years, when, as a friend and associate of Gherasim Luca, he put out the review Alge. Its avant-garde aesthetics and its testing of censorship resulted in their prosecution. While Luca endured as a public intellectual and a founder of the Romanian surrealist cell, Pals became a recluse.
Forgotten by the general public, exposed to antisemitic and later communist persecution, he continued to write for himself and an intimate circle of friends. He had a successful career in civil and railway engineering, but political nonconformity resulted in his marginalization for part of the 1960s.
Moving to Haifa in 1970, Pals was rediscovered by later generations of Romanian and Israeli readers, known to them for the moderate surrealism of his poetry and prose, and, to a lesser degree, for his take on Hegelian philosophy. His editorial debut came well into his 80s, when Pals was already bedridden and contemplating death. This led to his rediscovery as a contributor to both Romanian and Israeli literature.