Telling and Remembering: A Century of American Jewish Poetry [Hardcover]

Steven J. Rubin (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Divided chronologically into four parts, this ambitious anthology offers 202 poems by 56 authors?among them Pulitzer Prize winners Stanley Kunitz, Howard Nemerov, Carl Shapiro, Anthony Hecht, Maxine Kumin, Louis Gluck, and Philip Levine as well as important poets like Allen Ginsberg, Adrienne Rich, and Robert Pinsky. They are included here as American Jewish poets who write distinctly Jewish poetry on subjects such as anti-Semitism, the Holocaust, Israel, ancient and modern Jewish history, the interpretation of sacred and mystical texts, the role of gender in Judaism, the loss of Yiddish language and culture, and the nature of religious faith and belief. A comprehensive introduction and brief biographies are included. An important collection of American Jewish poets giving expression to what it is like to be a Jew in 20th-century America; recommended for all collections.?Molly Abramowitz, Silver Spring, Md.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

Let Me In by Judith Baumel
Samuel by Judith Baumel
To The Parents Of A Childhood Friend, A Suicide: 1. Shelach Lecha by Judith Baumel
To The Parents Of A Childhood Friend, A Suicide: 2. Massey, Bemidbar by Judith Baumel
To The Parents Of A Childhood Friend, A Suicide: 3. Berit Melach Olam by Judith Baumel
To The Parents Of A Childhood Friend, A Suicide: 4. Akedah by Judith Baumel
The Crypto-jews by Robin Becker
Grief by Robin Becker
Spiritual Morning by Robin Becker
Yom Kippur, Taos, New Mexico by Robin Becker
Desnos Reading The Palms Of Men On Their Way To The Gas Chambers by Stephen Berg
Prayer by Stephen Berg
Old Age by Maxwell Bodenheim
Poem To Gentiles by Maxwell Bodenheim
A Family Album by Alter Brody
Ghetto Twilight by Alter Brody
Kartushkiya-beroza by Alter Brody
Times Square by Alter Brody
Growing Up In A Jewish Neighborhood by Richard Chess
No Music by Richard Chess
Two And One by Richard Chess
Yiddish Poets In America by Richard Chess
As I Am My Father's; Based On A Work Of Achad Ha'am by Rose Drachler
Athens And Jerusalemj by Rose Drachler
The Prophet by Rose Drachler
The Witness by Rose Drachler
Home For Winter by Marcia Falk
Sabbath Morning by Marcia Falk
Shulamit In Her Dreams by Marcia Falk
The Handball Players At Brighton Beach by Irving Feldman
The Pripet Marshes by Irving Feldman
To The Six Million by Irving Feldman
Prologue: Visiting Father & Friends by Allen Ginsberg
To Aunt Rose by Allen Ginsberg
Yiddishe Kopf by Allen Ginsberg
Day Without Night by Louise Gluck
The Gift by Louise Gluck
Legend by Louise Gluck
Gallery by Albert Goldbarth
Shoyn Fergessin: I've Forgotten In Yiddish by Albert Goldbarth
Steerage by Albert Goldbarth
A World Above Suffering by Albert Goldbarth
Adam by Anthony Hecht
The Book Of Yolek by Anthony Hecht
Exile; For Joseph Brodsky by Anthony Hecht
'more Light! More Light!' by Anthony Hecht
The Vow by Anthony Hecht
Ancient Signs by Edward Hirsch
My Grandfather's Poems by Edward Hirsch
Paul Celan: A Grave And Mysterious Sentence by Edward Hirsch
At The New Year by John Hollander
Letter To Jorge Luis Borges: Apropos Of The Golem by John Hollander
Song At The End Of A Meal by John Hollander
1905 by David Ignatow
Kaddish by David Ignatow
The Rightful One by David Ignatow
History Of The Invisible by Rodger Lee Kamenetz
The Missing Jew by Rodger Lee Kamenetz
This Is The Map by Rodger Lee Kamenetz
Why Ten Men? by Rodger Lee Kamenetz
Above Vitebsk by Shirley Kaufman
Roots In The Air by Shirley Kaufman
Vows by Shirley Kaufman
The Western Wall by Shirley Kaufman
Death Camp by Irena Klepfisz
Dedications From Bashert by Irena Klepfisz
Der Mames Shabosim / My Mother's Sabbath Days by Irena Klepfisz
Fradel Schtok by Irena Klepfisz
Perspectives On The Second World War by Irena Klepfisz
The Chain by Maxine W. Kumin
Getting The Message by Maxine W. Kumin
In The Absence Of Bliss by Maxine W. Kumin
The Poet Visits Egypt And Israel by Maxine W. Kumin
Father And Son by Stanley Jasspon Kunitz
The Flight Of Apollo by Stanley Jasspon Kunitz
An Old Cracked Tune by Stanley Jasspon Kunitz
The Quarrel by Stanley Jasspon Kunitz
The Crowing Of The Red Cock by Emma Lazarus
In The Jewish Synagogue At Newport by Emma Lazarus
During The Eichmann Trial: 1. When We Look Up by Denise Levertov
During The Eichmann Trial: 2. The Peachtree by Denise Levertov
During The Eichmann Trial: 3. Crystal Night by Denise Levertov
February Evening In Boston, 1971 by Denise Levertov
Illustrious Ancestors by Denise Levertov
My Father With Cigarette Twelve Years Before The Nazis Could Break His by Philip Levine
New Days For Old, Old Days For New by Philip Levine
The Old Testament by Philip Levine
Zaydee by Philip Levine
Tell Them I'm Struggling To Sing With Angels by David Meltzer
Tishah B'ov / 1952 by David Meltzer
Who's The Jew by David Meltzer
Esther by Eve Merriam
Of Dogs And Ostriches by Eve Merriam
The Wall by Eve Merriam
My Mother by Robert Mezey
The Silence by Robert Mezey
To Levine Oon The Day Of Atonement by Robert Mezey
The Wandering Jew by Robert Mezey
Debate With The Rabbi by Howard Nemerov
Nicodemus by Howard Nemerov
A Song Of Degrees by Howard Nemerov
My Cousin Abe, Paul Antschel And Paul Celan by Jacqueline Osherow
Song For The Music In The Warsaw Ghetto by Jacqueline Osherow
To Eva by Jacqueline Osherow
The Yiddish Muses by Jacqueline Osherow
The Bride by Alicia Suskin Ostriker
The Eighth And Thirteenth by Alicia Suskin Ostriker
A Meditation In Seven Days by Alicia Suskin Ostriker
The Opinion Of Hagar by Alicia Suskin Ostriker
In The Synagogue by Cynthia Ozick
Origins, Divergences by Cynthia Ozick
When That With Tragic Rapture Moses Stood by Cynthia Ozick
The Wonder-teacher by Cynthia Ozick
Yom Kippur, 5726 by Cynthia Ozick
People In My Family by Grace Paley
The Sad Children's Song by Grace Paley
Some Days I Am Lonesome by Grace Paley
A Warning by Grace Paley
At The Jewish Museum by Linda Pastan
A Name by Linda Pastan
Old Photograph Album by Linda Pastan
Passover by Linda Pastan
Rachel (rachel [ra'chal,] A Ewe) by Linda Pastan
At The New Moon: Rosh Hodesh by Marge Piercy
A Candle In A Glass by Marge Piercy
Growing Up Haunted by Marge Piercy
Maggid by Marge Piercy
Avenue by Robert Pinsky
May Levine by Robert Pinsky
The Night Game by Robert Pinsky
Poem With Refrains by Robert Pinsky
Yahrzeit by Robert Pinsky
Commentary by Hyam Plutzik
For T. S. E. Only by Hyam Plutzik
Portrait by Hyam Plutzik
Kaddish by Charles Reznikoff
Kaddish by Charles Reznikoff
Meditations On The Fall And Winter Holidays: 1. New Year's by Charles Reznikoff
Meditations On The Fall And Winter Holidays: 2. Day Of Atonement by Charles Reznikoff
Meditations On The Fall And Winter Holidays: 3. Feast Of Booths by Charles Reznikoff
Meditations On The Fall And Winter Holidays: 4. Hanukkah by Charles Reznikoff
At The Jewish New Year by Adrienne Cecile Rich
Eastern War Time by Adrienne Cecile Rich
Food Packages: 1947 by Adrienne Cecile Rich
Jerusalem by Adrienne Cecile Rich
Yom Kippur 1984 by Adrienne Cecile Rich
The Connoisseur Of Jews by Jerome Rothenberg
In The Dark Word, Khurbn by Jerome Rothenberg
Nokh Aushvits (after Auschwitz) by Jerome Rothenberg
Portrait Of A Jew Old Country Style by Jerome Rothenberg
Rider by Mark Rudman
7. by Muriel Rukeyser
Akiba: Akiba Martyr by Muriel Rukeyser
Akiba: For The Song Of Songs by Muriel Rukeyser
Akiba: The Bonds by Muriel Rukeyser
Akiba: The Way Out by Muriel Rukeyser
Akiba: The Way Out by Muriel Rukeyser
Akiba: The Witnessr by Muriel Rukeyser
Bubble Of Air by Muriel Rukeyser
For My Son by Muriel Rukeyser
Traditional Tune by Muriel Rukeyser
The Bar Mitzvah by Philip Schultz
For My Father by Philip Schultz
For The Wandering Jews by Philip Schultz
Abraham by Delmore Schwartz
Jacob by Delmore Schwartz
Sarah by Delmore Schwartz
Descent by Robyn Selman
For The Field by Robyn Selman
Work Song by Robyn Selman
The Basement by Alan Shapiro
A Christmas Story by Alan Shapiro
Mezuzah by Alan Shapiro
On The Eve Of The Warsaw Uprising by Alan Shapiro
Bible Lesson by Harvey Shapiro
Death Of A Grandmother by Harvey Shapiro
Ditty by Harvey Shapiro
For Paul Celan And Primo Levi by Harvey Shapiro
Loyalty by Harvey Shapiro
The 151st Psalm by Karl Shapiro
The Alphabet by Karl Shapiro
My Father's Funeral by Karl Shapiro
My Grandmother by Karl Shapiro
Recapitulations by Karl Shapiro
Freestyle, On The First Of Tishri by Enid Shomer
From The Wailing Wall by Enid Shomer
Refusing The Call by Enid Shomer
Shards by Enid Shomer
After Theresienstadt by Myra Sklarew
Lithuania by Myra Sklarew
On Muranowska Street by Myra Sklarew
A Three-course Meal For The New Year by Myra Sklarew
Adler by Gerald Stern
Behaving Like A Jew by Gerald Stern
Self-portrait by Gerald Stern
Soap by Gerald Stern
Tashlikh by Gerald Stern
Bubba Esther, 1888 by Ruth Whitman
Cutting The Jewish Bride's Hair by Ruth Whitman
My Greatgreatuncle The Archbishop by Ruth Whitman
Touro Synagogue by Ruth Whitman
Uncle Harry At The La Brea Tar Pits by Ruth Whitman
The Book Of The Dead Man (#58) 1. About The Dead Man Outside by Charles Kenneth Williams
The Book Of The Dead Man (#58) 2. More About The Dead Man Outside by Charles Kenneth Williams
A Day For Anne Frank by Charles Kenneth Williams
The Extermination Of The Jews by Charles Kenneth Williams
Getting Lost In Nazi Germany by Charles Kenneth Williams
The Israeli Navy by Charles Kenneth Williams
Spit by Charles Kenneth Williams
The Vessel by Charles Kenneth Williams
Miriam's Song by Eleanor Wilner
Sarah's Choice by Eleanor Wilner
When Asked To Lie Down On The Altar by Eleanor Wilner
Poem Beginning The; Fifth Movement: Autobiography by Louis Zukofsky
A Song For The Year's End by Louis Zukofsky
-- Table of Poems from Poem Finder®

Product Details

• Hardcover: 499 pages
• Publisher: Beacon Pr (September 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807068381
• ISBN-13: 978-0807068380
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,873,700 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A World Above Suffering, November 30, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Telling and Remembering: A Century of American Jewish Poetry (Paperback)

This remarkable anthology comprises over two hundred English-language poems by fifty-six American Jewish poets. The volume is divided into four chronological sections. The first section, "To Be A Jew in the Twentieth Century," includes the work of poets born around the turn of the century and focuses mainly on such immigrant concerns as assimilation and acculturation. The second section, "New Days for Old, Old Days for New," contains the work of poets born in the 1920s. Seven of the fifteen poets in this section are women, including the well-known fiction writers Grace Paley and Cynthia Ozick, and redefining the traditional role of women in Judaism recurs as a major theme in many of these poems. The third section, "Struggling to Sing with Angels," comprises the work of sixteen poets born between 1930 and 1944. Not surprisingly, the Holocaust and the founding of the state of Israel figure more prominently in their work than do some of the issues that most concerned their immigrant parents and grandparents. "A World Above Suffering" features the work of twelve poets born after the Second World War and explores in depth the question what it means to be a Jew in America today. The editor introduces each poet to the reader in a brief essay before the appearance of his or her work, and the entire collection is prefaced by the editor's lengthy and insightful discussion of the nature and significance of American-Jewish poetry. A subject index is included for readers who prefer to read selectively for topics of special interest. Poetry lovers of all ages and ethnic backgrounds will find much to marvel at or simply enjoy in this remarkably diverse assemblage of poetic sensibilities.