About this item
An erudite and accessible survey of Jewish life and culture in the twentieth century, as reflected in seminal texts.Following The People and the Books, which "covers more than 2,500 years of highly variegated Jewish cultural expression" (Robert Alter, New York Times Book Review) , poet and literary critic Adam Kirsch now turns to the story of modern Jewish literature. From the vast emigration of Jews out of Eastern Europe to the Holocaust to the creation of Israel, the twentieth century transformed Jewish life. The same was true of Jewish writing: the novels, plays, poems, and memoirs of Jewish writers provided intimate access to new worlds of experience.Kirsch surveys four themes that shaped the twentieth century in Jewish literature and culture: Europe, America, Israel, and the endeavor to reimagine Judaism as a modern faith.
About the Author
is the author of two collections of poems and several books of poetry criticism. A senior editor at the and a columnist for , he also writes for and the . He lives in New York City with his wife and son.
