Hezi Leskali

Hezi Leskali (Hebrew: חזי לסקלי‎; July 26, 1952 – May 26, 1994) was an Israeli poet, choreographer, painter and art critic.

Hezi Leskali
Born	Ezekiel Leskali July 26, 1952 Rehovot, Israel
Died	May 26, 1994 (aged 41) Givatayim, Israel
Other names	Hezy Leskly
Occupation	Poet, choreographer, painter, art critic
Years active	1970-1994

Biography

Leskali was born in Rehovot to Czech-Jewish parents who survived the Holocaust, from which his father’s first wife and child had perished. They moved to Givatayim early in his childhood. At the age of 14, Leskali wrote his first poems and got them published in magazines at the age of 18. At age 22, Leskali moved to The Hague in the Netherlands where he studied dancing and art. He worked as a painter and a choreographer, and published four books of poems. One of his most popular works was in 1992, when he published Dutch Poetry - Four Imagined Dutch Poets and a Nonexistent Israeli Poet.[1]

Leskali was among the first of several Israeli people to identify as gay and was frequently active in many LGBT organisations during that time. The primary topics of Leskali’s poetry mainly consisted of homosexual life and dance.[2][3]

Death

Leskali died as a result of AIDS-related complications in Givatayim on May 26, 1994 at the age of 41. He was interred at Kiryat Shaul Cemetery.[4]

References

1. "לידיעת הסוטים: עשרות שנים אחרי מותו, חזי לסקלי עוד חי ובועט" (in Hebrew). Ynet. 18 January 2020. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
2. "חזי לסקלי: קוטל מרוב אהבה" (in Hebrew). haaretz.co.il. 13 March 2009. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
3. "שיר לשירה" (in Hebrew). Ynet. 7 April 2009. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
4. "החיים הם רק תירוץ רע" (in Hebrew). timeout.co.il. 13 June 2014. Retrieved 16 September 2020.

Bibliography

• The Modern Hebrew Poem Itself, 2003, ISBN 0-8143-2485-1