Best Contemporary Jewish Writing (Paperback)

by Michael Lerner (Editor) "As you were contained in Or embodied by Louise Schlossman When she was a sophomore at Walnut Hills High School In Cincinnati, Ohio, I salute..." (more)
Key Phrases: hereditary victimhood, human stain, outer persona, New York, West Bank, Mama Lo (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Michael Lerner selected poetry, essays and fiction for Best Contemporary Jewish Writing because they connect to or reflect "the fundamental Jewish project of healing and transformation, both personal transformation (tikkun atzmi) and healing of the world (tikkun olam). Lerner, founder of Tikkun magazine, selects work from a wide array of authors (feminist poet Adrienne Rich, novelist Phillip Roth, U.S. Senator Joseph Lieberman, Al Gore adviser Naomi Wolf) writing about a wide variety of subjects (Steve Greenberg's "Gay and Orthodox," Benny Morris's "The New Historiography of the Palestinian Struggle"). The essays, organized by topic, explore identity, spirituality, scripture, the Holocaust, conflicts in Israel, and Jewish culture. Taken as a whole, this volume admirably integrates the personal and political concerns of contemporary Judaism, and provides something for just about everyone to agree with--and, perhaps more importantly, disagree with. --Michael Joseph Gross --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

From Publishers Weekly
Widely known as a religious and political liberal, Tikkun editor Michael Lerner brings together poetry, fiction, essays and memoir from across the spectrum in Best Contemporary Jewish Writing, which includes work by Philip Roth, Yehuda Amichai, Naomi Wolf, Daniel Pipes and Rodger Kamenetz. Still, Lerner aims for writing "that connects to or reflects the fundamental Jewish project of healing and transformation," both of the person and the world. This book also includes Lerner's list of the 100 best contemporary Jewish books, available in English and published since 1985. This book covers the years 1994-2000; the 2002 edition will include material from the years 2000 and 2001.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 464 pages
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass (September 13, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0787959367
• ISBN-13: 978-0787959364
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,586,183 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Towards Healing and Transformation, November 9, 2001

By A Customer

This new 2001 collection edited by Michael Lerner, "Best Contemporary Jewish Writing" projects a voice of emancipatory spirituality fused with the ancient Jewish culture and tradition. From cover to cover the reader explores the broader issues that confront Jewish people in changing and adapting to a modern world. What constitutes the identity of Jewish people today; what form of spirituality remains for Jews in a modern society; what do we make of the sacred text on which Judaism has forever drawn much wisdom? "Best Contempory Jewish Writing" seeks to answer the pressing question as to how Jews are to seperate the destruction and hardships of the past from the need to rebuild and transform the present. It is truly inspiring the way in which the best of Jewish writers been drawn together, each with their own creative urge and wealth of knowlege, to explore the struggles of the past and the spirit of the present- and to speak a new wisdom towards healing and transformation.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Contemporary Jewish Writing, November 9, 2001

By	Nathan Wiess (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews

I think this is an amazing compendium of writers that will appeal to Jews and non Jews alike. Some of the old favorites appear-like Adrienne Rich, Philip Roth, and Naomi Wolf, Yehuda Amichai, Robert Pinsky, but there are a number of new writers as well whom I'd never heard of like Mordechai Gafni, Benny Morris, Sarah Polster, and C.K. Williams.

Rabbi Michael Lerner is kind of an extraordinary guy. I hadn't actually heard of him before, but it seems like he's been actively involved in peace works and general reformation of the world for a good portion of his life. I was really inspired by what he had to say in his introduction about his vision for a new world.j

The collection definitely has a more "progressive Jew" slant. This is not a Norton anthology cross section of the universe, but the collection of essays and stories I think accurately convey the complexity of modern life, and the complexity of being a contemporary Jew.

I loved it and highly recommend it.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely Fabulous!, November 12, 2001

By A Customer

I love this book! I'm not an expert on Jewish writing, but this collection seems to have it all. Each chapter is short enough and interesting enough that I can read a couple a day. There's so much variety, too--no chance of getting bored!

I particularly like the poetry, which was great. Some of the poets I didn't know until I bought this book, so I'm grateful to Michael Lerner for introducing me to their work. Some of the contributors I was surprised to find in this book, like Marge Piercy. It was good to find out that she writes Jewish poems, too.

I'm planning on buying a couple of extra copies to give as Hanukkah presents this year. I think it's a great gift-who wouldn't want a wonderful book like this?