Telling and Remembering: A Century of American Jewish Poetry

Book Overview

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• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 080706839X
• ISBN13: 9780807068397
• Release Date: January 1998
• Publisher: Beacon Pr
• Length: 499 Pages
• Weight: 1.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 1.5" x 6.3"

Customer Reviews

A World Above Suffering

This remarkable anthology comprises over two hundred English-language poems by fifty-six American Jewish poets. The volume is divided into four chronological sections. The first section, "To Be A Jew in the Twentieth Century," includes the work of poets born around the turn of the century and focuses mainly on such immigrant concerns as assimilation and acculturation. The second section, "New Days for Old, Old Days for New," contains the work of poets born in the 1920s. Seven of the fifteen poets in this section are women, including the well-known fiction writers Grace Paley and Cynthia Ozick, and redefining the traditional role of women in Judaism recurs as a major theme in many of these poems. The third section, "Struggling to Sing with Angels," comprises the work of sixteen poets born between 1930 and 1944. Not surprisingly, the Holocaust and the founding of the state of Israel figure more prominently in their work than do some of the issues that most concerned their immigrant parents and grandparents. "A World Above Suffering" features the work of twelve poets born after the Second World War and explores in depth the question what it means to be a Jew in America today. The editor introduces each poet to the reader in a brief essay before the appearance of his or her work, and the entire collection is prefaced by the editor's lengthy and insightful discussion of the nature and significance of American-Jewish poetry. A subject index is included for readers who prefer to read selectively for topics of special interest. Poetry lovers of all ages and ethnic backgrounds will find much to marvel at or simply enjoy in this remarkably diverse assemblage of poetic sensibilities.