“The Stars Outside” - ... in many respects - the book-book of Alterman and all modern Hebrew poetry in general. Dan Miron, literary scholar and critic.

In the summer of 1938. Nathan Alterman released his first book of poetry, “The Stars Beyond,” which became (and remains) his most popular work (and, in general, one of the most popular collections of Hebrew poetry).

The main characters of the book are the poet himself. , the universe that he glorifies, the city in which he lives, the feminine principle in the world (including the image of a woman, beloved and unattainable). The book is a single whole, the elements of which are united not only by heroes, setting and plots, but also by purely poetic means: it is dominated by one meter of verse - anapest; images, epithets, comparisons move from one poem to another (with the author’s rich imagination and excellent command of language). Alterman avoids specifying a specific location and characters, thereby enhancing the symbolic meaning of the poems. The book "The Stars Out" immediately demonstrated the originality and strength of Nathan Alterman's talent. At the same time, one can feel the influence of Western European symbolists (especially E. Verhaeren), and Russian poets of the “Silver Age” (especially B. Pasternak) and, of course, Alterman’s senior comrade, the leader of the then modernism in Hebrew poetry, Abraham Shlensky .

The book “The Stars Outside” influenced the further development of Hebrew poetry - both the direct followers of the poet and the opponents of his path from among the young poets of the fifties, who “revolted” against the “fathers”, as before then A. Shlensky “revolted” against H.-N. Bialik, the founder of modern Hebrew poetry. Having matured during the years of wars that accompanied the creation and formation of Israel, they did not limit themselves to symbols, but introduced into their works the specifics of the surrounding life and personal experiences “here and now.” And their poetic means were completely different. It was Alterman’s book that became the target for the “tools” of their criticism.