Haim Gouri (Hebrew: חיים גורי; né Gurfinkel; 9 October 1923 – 31 January 2018) was an Israeli poet, novelist, journalist, and documentaryfilmmaker. He was awarded the Israel Prize for poetry in 1988 and was the recipient of several other prizes of national distinction.
Gouri's first published poem, Day Voyage, appeared in Mishmar, edited by Abraham Shlonsky, in 1945. His first complete volume of poetry, Flowers of Fire, was published in 1949 following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.
Some poems that Gouri wrote became an inseparable part of the Israeli ethos. One of his most famous poems, "Behold, here our bodies lie" (Hebrew: הנה מוטלות גופותינו), was written in the time of Israel's war for independence (1948-1949) to commemorate the 35 soldiers who were killed on their way to the besieged Gush Etzion (Hebrew: גוש עציון) settlements.[4] Gouri also wrote a few famous popular songs such as "The Comradeship" (Hebrew: הרעות) that became representative of Israel's war for independence.
The film The 81st Blow, which he wrote, co-produced, and co-directed, was nominated for the 1974 Academy Award for Documentary Feature. It is part of a powerful Holocaust trilogy that includes The Last Sea and Flames in the Ashes.[6]
Though I Wished for More of More (Hebrew: אף שרציתי עוד קצת עוד), Hakibbutz Hameuchad, Daniella De-Nur, (2015)
Fiction
The Chocolate Deal (Hebrew: הספר המשוגע), Hakibbutz Hameuchad (1965). English translations: New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1968, ISBN1-125-15196-X. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1999, ISBN0-8143-2800-8.
The Crazy Book (Hebrew: הספר המשוגע). Am Oved Publishers, (1971)
The Interrogation, The Story of Reuel (Hebrew: החקירה, סיפור רעואל). Am Oved Publishers, (1980)
Who Knows Joseph G? (Hebrew: מי מכיר את יוסף ג'), Hakibbutz Hameuchad (1980)
Non-fiction
Pages of Jerusalem (Hebrew: דפים ירושלמיים) Hakibbutz Hameuchad, notes (1968)
The Imprint of Memory (Hebrew: חותם הזיכרון), Hakibbutz Hameuchad, Bialik Institute, (2015).
Documentary films
The 81st Blow (Ha-Makah Hashmonim V'Echad, 1974), distributed with English subtitles by "American Federation of Jewish Fighters, Camp Inmates and Nazi Victims"
