An Israeli Hebrew author, playwright, lyricist, and translator, Yaakov Shabtai was born in Tel Aviv in 1934 (Wikipectia …). Shabtai began translating plays and writing lyrics and original plays following his military service, when he lived in a kibbutz. In 1967, he moved back to Tel Aviv to dedicate himself to writing. In 1972, a collection of his short stories was published. Both his plays and short fiction received mixed reviews at the time of their original publication. In 1977, Shabtai published his first novel, Zikhron Dvarim [Past Continuous], which was immediately recognized as a unique literary achievement and as one of the most significant works of modern Hebrew literature. Shabtai died in 1981 of heart failure. His second novel, Sof Davar [Past Perfect], edited jointly by his widow, Edna Shabtai, and by the literary critic Dan Miron, was published posthumously in 1984 to great critical acclaim.