Yaakov Shabtai is widely considered as one of Israel's greatest writers. His 1977 novel Past Continuous, which captured the social fissures within Israeli society before they were made fully visible, was met with critical awe. His younger brother, Aharon Shabtai was, during that period, one of Israel's most experimental (and mostly unread) poets. This seminar will explore the familial and literary relationship between the two brothers, underscoring their mutual interest in the family as the subject matter of their writing. We shall read some of Yaakov's short stories, his first novel Past Continuous and a section of his last, "unfinished" novel Past Perfect. In conjunction with Yaakov's fiction, we shall read sections from Aaron Shabtai's long poems from the 1970w and 1980s as well as his literary essays.