The Fullness of Time: Poems (English and German Edition) [Paperback]

Gershom Scholem (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 31, 2003

Poetry. Jewish Studies. Bilingual Edition. Translated from the German by Richard Sieburth. Edited, Introduced, and Annotated by Steven M. Wasserstrom. One of the greatest scholars of the twentieth century, Gershom Scholem virtually created the subject of Kabbalah and Jewish mysticism as a serious area of study. His influence, however, has been felt far beyond the confines of the academy and to this day extends into the realm of literature and the arts. (Borges, for one, rhymed "Golem" with "Scholem.") Literature played a critical part in Scholem's own life, especially in his formative years, and he wrote poems from his teens on. This bilingual volume gathers together the best of them for the first time in any language. It contains dark, shockingly prescient political poems about Zionism and assimilation, parodies of German and Jewish philosophers, religious lyrics of a gnostic bent, and poems to other writers and friends such as Walter Benjamin, Hans Jonas, Ingeborg Bachmann, S. Y. Agnon, and others. "Abrupt, magisterial, quizzical, sometimes acidulous, and at moments poignantly wistful.... Scholem's verses return to an authentic Hasidic tradition of indicting God"—Harold Bloom.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A great scholar and loyal friend to Walter Benjamin (who is addressed here), Gershom Scholem wrote strong poetry. Presented in the original German with excellent facing-pace translations from PEN translation award-winner Richard Sieburth and with an introduction by Reed College professor of Judaic Studies and Humanities Steven M. Wasserstrom, the 21 poems of The Fullness of Time ask "Lord, grant that he may awake/ whom your absence has erased."
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"Gershom Scholem’s scholarship was of [the] rare, life-giving kind. Not only have his studies of the Kabbalah altered . . . the image of Judaism—but his explorations, translations, and presentations of Kabbalistic writings exercise a formidable influence on literary theory at large, on the ways in which non-Jewish and wholly agnostic critics and scholars read poetry."—George Steiner, New Yorker

"Gershom Scholem’s achievement has already put a generation of readers in his debt. He has intrepidly, singlehandedly, almost monomaniacally pursued the task of saving the literature of Jewish mysticism . . . restoring it to an estate of respect, honor, and importance."—Arthur A. Cohen, New York Times Book Review

"Scholem’s massive achievement can be judged as being unique in modern humanistic scholarship, for he has made himself indispensable to all rational students of his subject. . . . [He] is a Miltonic figure in modern scholarship, and deserves to be honored as such."—Harold Bloom, author of Kabbalah and Criticism

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 155 pages
• Publisher: Ibis Editions; 1 edition (March 31, 2003)
• Language: English, German
• ISBN-10: 9659012535
• ISBN-13: 978-9659012534
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,344,763 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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