Mati Shemoelof, born in 1972, is a writer, poet, curator, and literary editor. Born and raised in Haifa, Israel, he now lives and works in Berlin. He has published twelve books in Israel and Germany to date, including eight collections of poetry. His diverse body of work encompasses fiction, poetry, plays, essays, texts for art exhibitions, radio plays, and short stories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His work moves between Hebrew, German, Arabic, and English, negotiating questions of migration, belonging, language, and political imagination. He is considered a vital voice of contemporary Jewish-Mizrahi literature in the German-speaking world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His first publication in Germany was the bilingual poetry collection Bagdad | Haifa | Berlin<\/em> (Aphorisma Verlag, 2019), followed by Das kleine Boot in meiner Hand nenn ich Narbe<\/em> (Parasitenpresse, 2023). He developed the radio play Das k\u00fcnftige Ufer<\/em> (2018) for WDR.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Berlin, he founded the group Poetic Hafla<\/strong>, which organizes literary and musical performances, as well as Anu \u05d0\u05e0\u05d5 \u0646\u062d\u0646: Jews and Arabs Writing in Berlin<\/strong>, a collective for Jewish-Arabic dialogue. In 2021, he received a special grant from the Berlin Senate for a four-day festival centered on the vision of a Middle East Union. He is also a member of the editorial team for the literary magazine Bridges \u05d2\u05e9\u05e8\u05d9\u05dd Br\u00fccken \u0644\u062c\u0633\u0648\u0631<\/em> (Aphorisma Verlag), whose first issue was dedicated to humanitarian work in the Gaza Strip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2025, his novel Der Preis<\/em> was published by PalmArtPress; the translation was supported by a working grant from the German Translators’ Fund (Deutscher \u00dcbersetzerfonds). In autumn 2026, his first book written in German, Jiddische Sounds, Deutsche W\u00f6rter<\/em>, will be released by Elif Verlag, supported by a grant from the German Literature Fund (Deutscher Literaturfonds).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Parallel to this, he is releasing the album Die Fremden sind die Freunde \/ The Strangers Are the Friends<\/em> in 2026 together with musician Gidi Farhi. The work combines poetry and music, exploring themes of multilingualism, the experience of migration, and political and personal memory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mati Shemoelof\u2019s work has been recognized through numerous grants and residencies, including the K\u00fcnstlerdorf Sch\u00f6ppingen (2024) and the Kulturakademie Tarabya in Istanbul (2025). He is a regular guest at international literature festivals and renowned cultural platforms worldwide.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Mati Shemoelof, born in 1972, is a writer, poet, curator, and literary editor. Born and raised in Haifa, Israel, he now lives and works in Berlin. He has published twelve books in Israel and Germany to date, including eight collections of poetry. His diverse body of work encompasses fiction, poetry, plays, essays, texts for art […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":15796,"template":"","categories":[7],"class_list":["post-10214","eventkrake_artist","type-eventkrake_artist","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-author"],"yoast_head":"\n