In 2006, the U.S. visual artist Jenny Holzer included this poem as part of a series of light projections that she screened on various buildings in Vienna, Austria, many of them attached to major cultural and governmental institutions. These texts drew from poems by internationally recognized poets, Amichai among them. The first five lines of Chana Bloch’s translation of “Wildpeace” were projected on the Office of the Federal President of the Republic of Austria on May 7, 2006. The text is centered and introduces line breaks that are not present in Bloch’s translation of the poem. The fifth line is cut off after the word “about,” leaving out the final words of the line, “a great weariness.”

Suggested Activities: Show students Holzer’s image of Amichai’s words, as well as other images from her Vienna 2006 projection series, and ask them to think about what can be gained from seeing the poem in this context. Why might Holzer have chosen to include “Wildpeace” and these particular lines from the poem? Compare reading the poem in this format to reading the poem on a printed page. Invite students to create their own visual reworkings of the poem. Students may create signs using large poster paper or light projections by stencilling out the words and shining light from the other side of the page (with a flashlight, for example). If allowed, they could write out these lines in chalk outside of the school. Posters could be displayed along the school hallway. A textual commentary could accompany each image. Have them discuss why they have selected the particular language they have extracted from the poem and consider how their reading of the poem changes in this visual and material form. Have them think about what gives poetic language particular charge. For example, do the words “but rather” carry a different weight and meaning when they are placed on a separate line? What kind of associations or meanings are activated when they choose to highlight certain words and images over others?