Poet Biography

Roy "Chicky" Arad

ROY “Chicky” ARAD was born in Beer-Sheva, Israel, in 1976. He is the editor of Maayan, a magazine of poetry and ideas that publishes the work of Aharon Shabtai and other radical writers. Chicky is also a musician and political activist. With Mizrachi poet Mati Shemoelof he founded Culture Guerrilla, a group that arranges demonstrations of poetry and music to help striking workers. In 2001, at the peak of the Intifada, he was among the founders of Rave Against Occupation, which organized Arab and Jewish youth against the 1967 occupation. In January 2009, he was one of the editors of Go Out, an anthology against the war in Gaza. He has had several art exhibits and will have a one-man show in Malmo, Sweden, this year.