The co-op bookstore for avid readers
Book Cover for: Who Wants to Be a Jewish Writer?: And Other Essays, Adam Kirsch

Who Wants to Be a Jewish Writer?: And Other Essays

Adam Kirsch

From one of today's keenest critics comes a collection of essays on poetry, religion, and the connection between the two

Adam Kirsch is one of today's finest literary critics. This collection brings together his essays on poetry, religion, and the intersections between them, with a particular focus on Jewish literature. He explores the definition of Jewish literature, the relationship between poetry and politics, and the future of literary reputation in the age of the internet. Several essays look at the way Jewish writers such as Stefan Zweig and Isaac Deutscher, who coined the phrase "the non-Jewish Jew," have dealt with politics. Kirsch also examines questions of spirituality and morality in the writings of contemporary poets, including Christian Wiman, Kay Ryan, and Seamus Heaney. He closes by asking why so many American Jewish writers have resisted that category, inviting us to consider "Is there such a thing as Jewish literature?"

Book Details

  • Publisher: Yale University Press
  • Publish Date: Mar 19th, 2019
  • Pages: 232
  • Language: English
  • Edition: undefined - undefined
  • Dimensions: 8.30in - 5.80in - 1.00in - 0.80lb
  • EAN: 9780300240139
  • Categories: JewishPoetryEssays

About the Author

Adam Kirsch is a regular contributor to the Atlantic and the New Yorker, and the author of ten books, including The People and the Books: 18 Classics of Jewish Literature and Why Trilling Matters. He lives in New York City.

More books by Adam Kirsch

Book Cover for: On Settler Colonialism: Ideology, Violence, and Justice, Adam Kirsch
Book Cover for: The Revolt Against Humanity: Imagining a Future Without Us, Adam Kirsch
Book Cover for: The People and the Books: 18 Classics of Jewish Literature, Adam Kirsch
Book Cover for: The Modern Element: Essays on Contemporary Poetry, Adam Kirsch
Book Cover for: Jacob El Hanani: Recent Works on Canvas, Adam Kirsch
Book Cover for: The Global Novel: Writing the World in the 21st Century, Adam Kirsch
Book Cover for: The Discarded Life, Adam Kirsch
Book Cover for: Come and Hear: What I Saw in My Seven-And-A-Half-Year Journey Through the Talmud, Adam Kirsch
Book Cover for: The Blessing and the Curse: The Jewish People and Their Books in the Twentieth Century, Adam Kirsch
Book Cover for: Liberties Journal of Culture and Politics: Volume 4, Issue 2, Carissa Veliz
Book Cover for: Why Trilling Matters, Adam Kirsch
Book Cover for: Rocket and Lightship: Essays on Literature and Ideas, Adam Kirsch
Book Cover for: The Thousand Wells: Poems, Adam Kirsch
Book Cover for: Invasions: New Poems, Adam Kirsch

Praise for this book

"Kirsch interrogates some of the very basic assumptions of the American Jewish mainstream with love and with firmness."--Jesse Bernstein, Jewish Exponent

"Throughout these thoughtful and graceful pieces, Kirsch devotes considerable attention to the diversity and complexity of American Jewish fiction, but his real interest is the interface between literature and religion throughout the Western canon . . . His work reflects a keen appreciation of the diversity of literature and a sharp critical mind."--Kathryn Ruth Bloom, On the Seawall

"Kirsch never fails to reaffirm literature's necessity."--Clémence Boulouque, Public Books

"Adam Kirsch is one of today's finest literary critics This collection brings together his essays on poetry, religion, and the intersections between them, with a particular focus on Jewish literature."--Tradition online

"From one of our most distinguished public intellectuals and an indispensable voice on matters literary and spiritual, Adam Kirsch's collection of essays on poetry and religion shows him at his very best."--David Mikics, author of Slow Reading in a Hurried Age