{{Short description|Israeli author and poet}} {{other uses}} {{Infobox writer | name = Shez | native_name = שז | native_name_lang = he | birth_name = Efrat Yerushalmi | birth_date = {{Birth date|1959|10|30}} | birth_place = Kiryat Ono, Israel | nationality = Israeli | occupation = Writer, poet, playwright, musician, songwriter | notableworks = ''The Crazy Dance'', ''Away From His Absence'' | awards = Ron Adler Prize for Poetry (1999), Prime Minister's Prize for Hebrew Literary Works (2007), Hero of Culture Award from the Israeli LGBT community (2004) | image = Shez-New.jpg | caption = Shez in 2014 |module=thumb|right|The song "Mom" from the album ''Crazy Dance'' }} '''Shez''' ('''Shaz''', {{langx|he|שז}}; born '''Efrat Yerushalmi''', 30 October 1959)<ref name=globes>[https://www.globes.co.il/news/article.aspx?did=1000596427 "ההפרדה בין כוחות ההרס וביני נעשית מאוד ברורה באמצעות הכתיבה"] [The separation between the forces of destruction and between me becomes very clear through writing], by Boaz Kohen, ''Globes'', October 25, 2010</ref> is an Israeli writer, poet and playwright. Recipient of the 1999 {{ill|Ron Adler Prize|he|קרן רון אדלר}} for Poetry and the 2007 Prime Minister's Prize for Hebrew Literary Works.<ref name=globes/> She is also a musician and a songwriter, described as "the first out lesbian performer in Israel".<ref>''Encyclopedia of Gay Histories and Cultures'': Volume 2, George Haggerty, p. 484: [https://thisfrenzy.com/translating-shez/articles-about-shez/shez-in-encyclopedia-of-gay-histories-and-cultures/ "Zhez"]</ref> More recently she has become a facilitator of writing workshops and "weight loss through writing" workshops.<ref>[https://www.makorrishon.co.il/nrg/online/55/ART2/209/023.html?hp=55&cat=305 המסלול העוקף: "לאט לאט אני לומדת להרפות"] [The bypass route: "Slowly I learn to let it go"], Moshe Kutner, February 7, 2011, ''Makor Rishon''</ref>
== Early life == Shez was born in Kiryat Ono to Avraham and Ada Yerushalmi. She was subject to incest, reflected in her poems and books.<ref name=agns>[https://www.haaretz.co.il/misc/1.707506 ילדה ושמה שז] [A girl named Shaz], an interview by Aviva Lori, ''Haaretz'', Jule 7, 2001</ref> Trying to distance herself from the past, she changed her name ("Shez" is a Hebrew contraction of ''Shem Zmani'' ({{langx|he|שם זמני}}), "temporary name") at the age of 25.<ref name=agns/>
Shez studied theatre at {{ill|Thelma Yellin School|he|תלמה ילין (בית ספר)}}.<ref name=agns/>
== Creative career == {{Expand Hebrew|topic=bio|date=January 2022}} Shez is described as a "provocative and extroverted lesbian" and her poetry is "outrageous, blunt and violent and leaves not even a narrow crack for sentimentality and compassion".<ref name=agns/>
=== Albums === *2002: ''Crazy Dance'', music album based on the 1999 book *2020: להחזיר את הפיות (''Return the Fairies'') a music album in cooperation with Jonathan Bar Giora, released by Helicon Records
===Books=== *1996: ''White Pearl Necklace'', a play about childhood sexual abuse<ref>"Talent-spotting for a new Shakespeare in Acre", ''The Jerusalem Post'', 1996 ([https://archive.org/stream/TheJerusalemPost1996IsraelEnglish/Aug%2012%201996%2C%20The%20Jerusalem%20Post%2C%20%2319350%2C%20Israel%20%28en%29_djvu.txt archived text])</ref> *1999: ''The Crazy Dance'' (ריקוד המשוגעת) - songs *2001: ''Returning the Fairies to Eretz Israel: A Fake Autobiographical Novel'' (להחזיר את הפיות לארץ-ישראל)<ref>[https://www.makorrishon.co.il/nrg/online/archive/ART/166/964.html A review of the book ''Returning the Fairies''] by {{ill|Yoram Meltzer|he|יורם מלצר}}, July 20, 2001, ''Makor Rishon'' </ref> *2005" ''Tamed'' (מאולפת) - stories *2010: ''Away From His Absence'' (הרחק מהיעדרו), Am Oved Publishing. Written in the first person, it is a novel about the incestuous relationship between a father and a daughter. A screenplay by Keren Yedaya based on the book was chosen to take part in a Jerusalem Film Festival.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20211228045734/https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/culture/filmmakers-use-taboos-to-lure-investors-1.5265191 "Israeli Director Keren Yedaya Pitches Screenplay About Incest at Jerusalem Film Festival"]</ref> Eventually, it resulted in the 2014 Israeli-French drama film with English title ''That Lovely Girl'', screened at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival to compete in the section Un Certain Regard.
==Awards== *2007 Prime Minister's Prize for Hebrew Literary Works.<ref name=globes/> *2004: Hero of Culture Award from the Israeli LGBT community<ref name=globes/><ref>[http://gogay.co.il/item.php?id=4699 יקירי הקהילה: שז, אילנה ברגר, והזוג ירוס-חקק] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211228054335/http://gogay.co.il/item.php?id=4699 |date=2021-12-28 }} [Community loved ones: Shaz, Ilana Berger, and the couple Yaros-Hakak], gogay.co.il</ref> *1999 Ron Adler Prize for Poetry<ref name=globes/>
==References== {{commons category|Shez}} {{reflist}} {{Authority control}}
Category:1959 births Category:Living people Category:20th-century Israeli poets Category:21st-century Israeli poets Category:Israeli lesbian writers Category:21st-century Israeli women writers Category:Lesbian poets Category:Israeli LGBTQ poets Category:Israeli LGBTQ dramatists and playwrights Category:Israeli women dramatists and playwrights Category:Lesbian dramatists and playwrights Category:People from Kiryat Ono Category:Recipients of Prime Minister's Prize for Hebrew Literary Works Category:20th-century Israeli women poets Category:21st-century women poets