Handbook of American-Jewish Literature: An Analytical Guide to Topics, Themes, and Sources

(Hardback)

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The title is perhaps a bit deceptive, for this is assuredly more than `handbook' might indicate. . . . Fried's anthology is a truly complex work, bringing together eighteen essays of mostly uniform high quality, and masses of bibliographic resources to present a comprehensive overview. . . . Fried's book does not present the original works themselves, but rather culls mostly outstanding essays on the prose, poetry, drama, and literary criticism produced by Jewish writers in America from the final decades of the last century to the present. Studies in American Jewish Literature Focusing on the Jewish contribution to American writing, this guide offers a comprehensive view of Jewish identity and experience in American society, together with important bibliographic information for the scholar or researcher. In eighteen essays written by a distinguished group of specialists, it provides a wealth of fact, interpretation, and commentary relating to American-Jewish literature, criticism, and other writing published since the 1880s. In his introduction, Fried reviews the history of American-Jewish writing and the major social, moral, and political concerns that have affected it. The essays that follow focus primarily on the literary culture created by Eastern-European Jewish immigrants and their children, as they shaped and were shaped by their experiences in America. The first several chapters look at American-Jewish fiction from 1880 to the present. Drama and autobiographical works also are discussed as are American-Yiddish poetry, criticism, and other writing. Other chapters assess the influence of theology, Zionism, and the Holocaust on American-Jewish writers, as well as the relationship of their works to other literatures and international critical perspectives. Themes that are explored from several perspectives include the relevance of the diaspora to the American-Jewish literary imagination; the forging of multiple loyalties and reconciliation into an American-Jewish culture; and the making of an American-Jewish identity.

Reviews

A richly informative collection of 18 essays on the most significant aspects of American-Jewish literary culture from the 1880s to the present. Each essay is organized on bibliographical lines, offering the reader a critical assessment of individual works and authors set within a historical account of the major authors and literary tendencies of the past century. . . . The quality of the essays varies, as do the critical and theoretical approaches, but on the whole the reader will be rewarded by the detailed, near-encyclopedic information set in a comprehensive cultural context. Each essay is accompanied by a bibliography of relevant major works, enhancing the research potential of the whole.-Choice
The Handbook of American-Jewish Literature is a superb collection of essays on American-Jewish literature, its major subjects and themes, and the literary culture that fed it and feeds it. Arranged sensible, that is, topically, the relevant critical concerns are studied and each essay is built upon substantial bibliographic material. The Handbook should be in every interested student's collection; it should be in every library. It is an essential and irreplaceable resource, a 'must' for scholars, with the added advantage that the essays are gracefully and well-written. Blending scholarship with sensitivity, this collection is a gem, a major effort in recording and understanding American-Jewish literature and culture.-Daniel Walden, Professor of American Studies, English and Comparative Literature, Pennsylvania State University
While more a collection of critical essays than a handbook, per se, this mammoth work indeed achieves its stated purpose: 'to discuss this literary culture so that is achievements are readily made known to reader and scholar.' Critical approaches of the 18 scholarly essays range from historical (1880-1930, 1930-1945, 1945 to the present) to generic, thematic. . . . Each essay has its own bibliography of texts cited and sometimes recommends further reading.-Library Journal
"A richly informative collection of 18 essays on the most significant aspects of American-Jewish literary culture from the 1880s to the present. Each essay is organized on bibliographical lines, offering the reader a critical assessment of individual works and authors set within a historical account of the major authors and literary tendencies of the past century. . . . The quality of the essays varies, as do the critical and theoretical approaches, but on the whole the reader will be rewarded by the detailed, near-encyclopedic information set in a comprehensive cultural context. Each essay is accompanied by a bibliography of relevant major works, enhancing the research potential of the whole."-Choice
"While more a collection of critical essays than a handbook, per se, this mammoth work indeed achieves its stated purpose: 'to discuss this literary culture so that is achievements are readily made known to reader and scholar.' Critical approaches of the 18 scholarly essays range from historical (1880-1930, 1930-1945, 1945 to the present) to generic, thematic. . . . Each essay has its own bibliography of texts cited and sometimes recommends further reading."-Library Journal
"The Handbook of American-Jewish Literature is a superb collection of essays on American-Jewish literature, its major subjects and themes, and the literary culture that fed it and feeds it. Arranged sensible, that is, topically, the relevant critical concerns are studied and each essay is built upon substantial bibliographic material. The Handbook should be in every interested student's collection; it should be in every library. It is an essential and irreplaceable resource, a 'must' for scholars, with the added advantage that the essays are gracefully and well-written. Blending scholarship with sensitivity, this collection is a gem, a major effort in recording and understanding American-Jewish literature and culture."-Daniel Walden, Professor of American Studies, English and Comparative Literature, Pennsylvania State University

Author Bio

LEWIS FRIED is Associate Professor in the Department of English at Kent State University. wn /f Gene /r advisory ed. metzky /f Jules /r advisory ed. ap /f Louis /r advisory ed.