Biblical scholar and Hebrew Studies professor Robert Alter, who has received considerable praise from The New Yorker, appeared at the Y in December 2007 for a reading and conversation on “The Psalms” (previously reviewed here) with Marilynne Robinson, author of the Pulitzer Prize winner Gilead. In the video clip above, Alter describes how the English language fails to reproduce the sound of Biblical Hebrew due to its “compactness” and Robinson marvels at the presence of fallible human voices in the sacred testimonies of Scripture literature.

Related: Don’t miss the Y’s Festival of Hebrew Literature with contemporary Israeli writers David Grossman, Meir Shalev and Etgar Keret in March. Grossman is also featured in our Critics & Brunch series.