Background

Literature and poetry are arts expressed through words. Literature has existed since the first days of mankind and is one of the things that distinguish man from other creatures.

Literature

Literature is divided into many genres, and there are many ways to characterize it.
One of the main divisions is: fiction / non-fiction - where fiction tells a story that did not necessarily happen, while non-fiction deals with facts.

In the field of fiction, the books can be divided according to their content: thrillers, science fiction, novels, and many others. Children’s literature is another area, where you can usually find the same division, but the books are aimed at younger ages.

We will not be able to cover all types of literature and its subfields, so we will focus on those that have been immortalized and are on the site. Over time it is likely that more types will be added as more signs are added.

Noteworthy books and authors
Oscar Wilde
The Irish writer who was born in Dublin (1854-1900) was involved in many areas of literature and poetry. One of his well-known books is "The Picture of Dorian Gray" about a man who remains young on the outside, but inside he is decaying.
He also wrote books and fairy tales for children.

Miguel de Cervantes
The Spanish writer (1547-1616) who wrote "Don Quixote" or in his full name "Don Quixote de la Manche"
In the city of Seville, clay plaques were placed in the places that appear in his books, this for the 300th anniversary of his death
and in Madrid, you can find excerpts from "Don Quixote" on the sidewalks, such as the section located near the house where the author lived

Sholem Aleichem
The pen name of Solomon Naumovich Rabinovich (1859-1916), whose books describe the life of the Jews in Eastern Europe. Among his well-known books "Menachem Mendel" and the best-known of all "Tevye’s Daughters" mainly because of the musical "Fiddler on the Roof" based on it

Dante
Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) Italian poet, philosopher and statesman. Best known for his work "The Divine Comedy" a poetic poem describing a journey through the realm of the dead

Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens (1812-1870) English author who wrote dozens of books, some of them for children. One of the best known of them is Oliver Twist about an orphan boy who joins a group of criminals, in the book Dickens touches on the social problems of those days
Dickens was also engaged in journalism and edited the magazine "All the Year Round"

Shmuel Yosef Agnon
Shmuel Yosef Agnon (1887-1970), Israeli writer, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, who wrote mainly about the existence of the Jewish community in Israel and the diaspora

Thriller books
Books in which the hero is usually a detective or law enforcement officer, and must solve a mystery, fight crime, and usually books in which the "good guys" defeat the "bad guys".
In most of these books, the mysteries are only solved at the end of the story, with many twists and turns in the plot.

Agatha Christie and Arthur Conan Doyle stand out among those writers

Arthur Conan Doyle
The Scottish writer born in Edinburgh (1859-1930) best known for the "Sherlock Holmes" books - the famous British detective who solves mysteries together with his friend Dr. Watson .

At the subway station on Baker Street, the street where Sherlock Holmes lived (according to the book) , excerpts and illustrations from his books appear
"The Solitary Cyclist"
"The Lion’s Mane"
"The Red-Headed League"
"Charles Augustus Milverton"
"The Hound of the Baskervilles"
"The Sign of Four"
"The Speckled Band"

Agatha Christie
The queen of thrillers. Agatha Christie (1890-1976) was born in Turkey (England) and wrote nearly 100 thrillers. Two detectives stand out in her books: Miss Marple, an elderly detective, and the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot.
Plays and movies were made about her books.
A commemorative statue to her memory is in London , as well as quotations from her book and also a sign in one of the houses where she lived

Science Fiction
Books that simulate the future, or predict technologies that don’t exist and build a fictional story around them.
One of the first science fiction writers was the French writer Jules Verne, who predicted many discoveries and published dozens of books
Another book written in 1818 by the writer Mary Shelley, is "Frankenstein" about the creation of a monster from inanimate body parts, a book that was one of the first science fiction books (some define it as a suspense/horror book)

Plays
A story intended for theatrical performance. Plays consist of acts that each take place in a certain place, and in each act there are lines of text spoken by the actors.

William Shakespeare
The greatest playwright. William Shakespeare who was born in Stratford-upon-Avon (1564-1616) wrote dozens of plays - tragedies, comedies, historical plays and more.
He is commemorated not only in Britain but also in other places: the United States ,

Literary routes
Walking routes dedicated to writers or poets:
The library route, near the New York Public Library - quotes from well-known authors or those who deal with books and literature
Berkeley’s poetry trail - 128 metal plates with excerpts from poems, each of which is related in one way or another to the city of Berkeley. ,
Literary Stockholm - a project that started in the city in 1992, where there are signs with quotes from books or poems related to the place where the sign is located

Children’s books
Children’s books are supposed to be books in simple language and are usually accompanied by many illustrations, so that it will be easier for the children to read them. Many children’s books are loved and read by adults, who sometimes discover a different interpretation than that intended for the young reader.

In particular, the following books and authors can be mentioned:
Hans Christian Andersen
Danish writer (1805-1875). Famous mainly for the children’s fairy tales he wrote, among them: The Little Mermaid, The Emperor’s New Clothes, The Ugly Duckling and more.

Lewis Carroll
Lewis Carroll (Charles Lutwidge Dodgson) (1832-1898), writer and mathematician best known as the one who wrote "Alice in Wonderland" and the sequel "Through the Looking-Glass"
In his books you can find many logic tricks that stem from his being a logician.

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
French writer (1944-1900) who is best known for his book "The Little Prince"

Nachum Gutman
Painter and writer (1898-1980) known mainly for his children’s books: Path of the Orange Peels , The Great Vacation or The Mystery of the Boxes and more. The author’s paintings also appear in these books. Winner of the Israel Prize for Children’s Literature (1978)

David Grossman
Grossman, who is mainly known as an author for adults, also wrote for children and teenagers. "Someone to Run With", a book with places in the city of Jerusalem, was commemorated in the places that appear in the book ,

Michael Bond
British author (1926-2017) who is best known for the series of books about "Paddington Bear", associated with Paddington train station in London

A. A. Milne
British author (1882-1956) who wrote the well-known children’s book Winnie the Pooh, and other books in which Winnie the Pooh appears.

Story Gardens
Children’s playgrounds with sculptures and even playgrounds designed around a certain story. The city of Holon, Israel excels in dozens of such gardens, among them:

Alona Frankel - about gnomes, mushrooms and what else?
Ayin Hillel - Dodi Simcha loves animals
Meir Shalev - Khina Nachama , Noah’s Ark
Leah Goldberg - apartment for rent , The scatterbrained from Kfar Azar , where is Pluto
David Grossman - Itamar walks on walls , Itamar meets a rabbit , There were two monkeys
Deborah Omer - The cockroach that cockroach enters his head
Antoine de Saint Exupery - The Little Prince ,
Levin Kipnis - Dad’s big umbrella
Shel Silverstein - The Giving Tree
Ephraim Sidon - The plots of Ferdinand Pedhatzur in brief a story from the heart
Tirtza Atar - The lion that loved strawberry
Yehuda Atlas - It’s Me

Poetry

Literary description through rhymes or some other form of special use of language. Usually songs are much shorter than books.
Here are some songs that appear on the site:
Naomi Shemer - The White City
Ehud Manor - squares named after the names of his poems in Binyamina
Haim Nachman Bialik , ,
Shaul Tchernihovsky
Nathan Zach
Yehuda Halevi
Nathan Alterman