Literature

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https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11976/2

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Now showing 1 - 20 of 144

Louise Glück, Nobel prize-winning poet, dies at 80: Pulitzer prize winner and former US poet laureate was known for her sharp, austere lyrical work
(The Guardian, 2023-10-13) Horton, Adrian
An obituary for the highly-regarded poet, Louise Glück, who died in October, 2023. Glück served as United States poet laureate in 2003-2004. She was also awarded a Pulitzer Prize in 1983 for her book of poetry, "White Iris," and the Nobel Prize for literature in 2020. Click on the link above to read the article.
Jews in Comic Books
(My Jewish Learning, 2023) Kaplan, Arie
This article discusses the influence of Jewish writers and artists on the comic book industry, beginning in the 1930s. The writer, Jerry Seigel and the artist Joe Shuster created Superman, which, according to the author, "heralded the beginningof the so-called 'Golden Age' of comic books..." The article traces the evolution of the comic book industry. The latter part of the 20th century, beginning in the 1980s, saw the development of the graphic novel, in part thanks to Art Spiegelman’s "Maus." Although Jewishness was not an explicit or overt theme of comic books, it is a more prominent theme of comtemporary graphic novels.
The Official Sholem Aleichem Website
(2016) The Sholem Aleichem Foundation; The Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies; Citizen Film; The Yiddish Book Center; The Covenant Foundation
Launched on the centennial anniversary of Sholem Aleichem's death in 1916, this web site showcases the life, work and legacy of perhaps the most widely-known Yiddish writer. It includes recorded excerpts and appreciation of his work, as well as his Ethical Will, which was read at his funeral in New York City, published in the New York Times and read into the Congressional Record. Click on the link to explore the web site.
Sholem Aleichem
(YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe, 2013-05-16) Miron, Dan
Sholem Aleichem is probably the best-known among Yiddish writers. He was born in Eastern Europe in 1859 as Shalom Rabinovitz. He emigrated to the United States in 1906. Often called "the Jewish Mark Twain" because of his ability to capture the dialect and voice of common people, Sholem Aleichem's literary legacy He wrote primarily about Eastern European Jews with wit, humor and sensitivity. His well-known Tevye stories were the inspiration for the Broadway musical, "Fiddler on the Roof," which enjoyed international success, was translated into many different languages and performed in theaters throughout the world. Click on the link to read the article.
Power
(Doubleday, 1962) Fast, Howard
A novel by Howard Fast, downloaded from the Internet Archive. Click on the icon to read the novel.
21 Short and Sweet Shel Silverstein Poems That’ll Bring You Back to Childhood
(HarperCollins Publishers, 2022) Silverstein, Shel
In celebration of Poetry Month in April, HarperCollins published some poems by Shel Silverstein. Click on the link above to read the poems. For the New York Times obituary of Shel Silverstein, click on the link below.
Shel Silverstein, Zany Writer and Cartoonist, Dies at 67
(The New York Times, 1999-05-11) Honan`, William H.
An obituary for Shel Silverstein, who was best-known for his writing for children. His poetry collections have enjoyed long runs on the bestseller list. He is also the author of the classic children's book, "The Giving Tree." It is far less well-known that Silverstein contributed cartoons to Playboy Magazine for many years, and wrote nine plays for adults. Click on the link above to read the obituary.
‘Hallelujah’ Review: From Leonard Cohen to Cale to Buckley to Shrek: A new documentary tells the entwined stories of a songwriter and his best-known composition
(New York Times, 2022-07-01) Scott, A.O.
This is New York Times film reviewer, A.O. Scott's Critics Pick of the biographical documentary, "Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, a Journey, a Song." The directors, Dan Geller and Dayna Goldfine trace the seven-year development of Leonard Cohen's best-known song, "Hallelujah." They trace his development from a poet and known figure in the Canadian literary community, his upbringing in the affluent Westmount section of Montreal, and his interest in Jewish and Buddhist religious teachings. Click on the link above to read Scott's review of the film. Click on the links below to see NAJC's other entries on Leonard Cohen.
Moyshe-Leyb Halpern
(Alan D Leve Center for Jewish Studies, UCLA, 2015-12-07) Levinson, Julian; Halpern, Moyshe-Leyb
This entry contains a brief biographical sketch of the Jewish American Yiddish poet, Moyshe-Leyb Halpern, as well as two of his poems in both the original Yiddish and English translation. The emphasis of the biography is on the short time in which Halpern lived in Los Angeles and the poems are from this same period. Click on the link above to access.
American Yiddish Literature and Jewish Continuity
(Virtual Shtetl (originally published by the Congress for Jewish Culture), 1999) Goldsmith, Emanuel S.
"For one hundred and thirty years, Yiddish literature in America escorted, comforted and inspired American Jewry on its adventure in freedom. It captured the changing image of the Jewish people all over the world, both because of the centrality of American Jewry in Jewish life of the past century and because the Yiddish writers of America remained overwhelmingly faithful to the mission of Yiddish literature as a whole: to responsibly mirror, interpret and advance the life of the Jewish people." Click on the link above to read the rest of this chapter from "Yiddish Literature in America - 1870-2000."
Jews in Space: On the Unsung History of Jewish Writers and the Birth of Science Fiction
(Literary Hub, 2021-06-14) Tidhar, Lavie
Tidhar initially set out to explore Israeli science fiction and learned it was virtually non-existent. He discovered, however, that "the modern genre of science fiction owes much of its existence to Jewish writers." Indeed the term "science fiction' was coined by a Jewish immigrant to the United State, Hugo Gernsback. The burgeoning field became a magnet for Jewish writers, including Isaac Asimov and Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, who created the famous "Superman." Click on the link above to read the article. Click on the links below for our entries on Superman and Isaac Asimov.
Isaac Asimov and the Three Laws of Robotics
(SciHi Blog, 2018-01-02) Tietz, Tabia
Isaac Asimov was a science fiction writer and a biochemist. Asimov coined the term "robotics," which he used in his science fiction works. The robot characters in Asimov's science fiction were supposed to obey "The Three Laws of Robotics." This blog entry discusses these three laws as well as Asimov's literary and academic career. Click on the link above to read this blog entry.
Is There Such a Thing as Jewish Fiction?
(Moment Magazine, 2012-06) Moment Magazine Staff
A set of commentaries by with several contemporary writers that explore the question of whether or not the body of literary work produced by Jews can be considered Jewish fiction. Although not all of the authors included in this discussion are North American, nor are all of the writers discussed, most of them are, in fact, American. Click on the link above to read the article.
In a Different Way, Norman Mailer Was a Deeply Jewish Writer
(Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA), 2007-11-14) Bernstein, Mashey
This article discusses the work of the writer, Norman Mailer, who died in 2007, in the context of his Judaism. The author claims that, although Jews do not typically identify Mailer as a Jew, in the same way they do Bernard Malamud, Saul Bellow or Philip Roth, Mailer was, in fact, a religious writer. Although his work and political involvements were not explicitly concerned with Jewish topics, "[his] ideology, as an American writer and social commentator, stems from the activist or prophetic side of Judaism." Click on the link above to read the article.
The J.D. Salinger I Never Knew
(Medium, 2019-11-26) Osnos, Peter
J.D. Salinger was best known for his 1951 novel "Catcher in the Rye." He was also known for his reclusiveness. His literary oeuvre effectively ended in the mid 1960s and little was known about his personal life until quite recently. One of those little-known personal details is that Salinger was Jewish. This article discusses Salinger in the context of his New York Jewish background. Click on the link above to read the article.
How Curious George’s Creators Saved The Beloved Monkey From The Nazis
(The Forward, 2017-08-11) Friedman, Gabe
H.A. and Margaret Rey created the Curious George character, which has been beloved by children for many decades. This article describes how the Reys left Nazi Germany in 1935 to escape growing antisemitism. The couple ended up in Paris, where they again sought to escape as the Nazis as they were steadily closing in on Paris. Unable to buy a train ticket or even a bicycle, H.A. Rey made two bikes, they gathered all their Curious George manuscripts and escaped, finally making their way to New York.The story of the Rey's escape became the subject of a documentary entitled "Monkey Business: The Story of Curious George’s Creators." Click on the link above to read the article.
An Origin Story for the Netanyahus
(newrepublic.com, 2021-06-24) Kulwin, Noah
"Joshua Cohen’s inventive new novel imagines Benjamin Netanyahu’s childhood, and digs deep into his father Benzion’s vision of Jewish history." Click on the link above to read this review of the novel by the Jewish American writer Joshua Cohen.
Cynthia Ozick Calls the New Philip Roth Biography a ‘Narrative Masterwork’
(New York Times, 2021-04-01) Ozick, Cynthia
A review by Cynthia Ozick of Blake Bailey's biography of Philip Roth entitled "Philip Roth: The Biography." Click on the link above to read the review. Bailey's biography has since become mired in controversy over accusations of sexual harassment against Bailey. In the wake of these controversies, there has been concern about Roth's legacy, since access to Roth's papers are tightly controlled by his estate. To read an article discussing these issues, click on the link below.
What Happens to Philip Roth’s Legacy Now?
(New York Times, 2021-06-04) Alter, Alexandra; Schuessler, Jennifer
In an effort to control his legacy, Philip Roth authorized only one biography, "Philip Roth: The Biography" by Blake Bailey, which appeared after Roth's death. The biography was based on hundreds of hours of interviews with Roth as well as access to his personal papers. Since Bailey's biography was published, it has become steeped in controversy over several accusations of sexual harassment against Bailey. The article addresses the concern among scholars and critics over what will happen to Roth's legacy, since his estate exercises tight control over who has access to his papers. Click on the link above to read the article.
Tillie Olsen Captured the Toll of Women’s Labor — on Their Lives and Art
(New York Times, 2021-03-25) Scott, A.O.
This essay on the author, Tillie Olsen, is part of A.O. Scott's series in the New York Times Sunday Book Review, entitled "The Americans: Writers Who Show Us Who We Are." He focuses on the work for which Tillie Olsen is best known, "Tell Me A Riddle." The four short stories in this collection describe in vivid detail the pain, drudgery and fatigue of working class life in the early to mid-twentieth century. Scott uses Olsen's thin oeuvre to exemplify how the work of daily life mutes artistic creation. He credits her with changing the "study of American literature, opening its canon to neglected voices and traditions." Click on the link above to read Scott's essay. For more information on Tillie Olsen, click on the first link below. To read an interview with Olsen in "The Progressive Magazine," click on the second link below.

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