Shirley Kaufman is an American poet and translator who has lived in Israel for thirty years. Her poetry bears witness to daily life in Jerusalem as it explores the ambiguities of uneasy identity and relationships — race and religion, married love, mothers and daughters, cultural history and individual aging. In this astonishingly beautiful collection, her concern with rage, suffering, and fear — especially among Israelis and Palestinians — is deeply revealed in poems of profound consequence that question the role of art in all our lives. She writes, "What lasts is what we are up against."

About Threshold:

"Progressive, passionate and unfailing feminist, Kaufman is a breathtaking fine poet."
—The Nation

"Kaufman's poems flourish in the spaces between what is familiar and unfamiliar, between life in Israel and life in the U.S.... The outstanding qualities of these poems are their clear-sightedness, their straight-forwardness, and the accuracy of their simple metaphors. These poems are accessible; their emotional message lies on the surface and soaks, like water, into the heart."
—American Book Review

"Kaufman is adept at revealing the human face behind politics, carefully accumulating familiar details to make a large portrait."
—Publishers Weekly