Overview

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?”

Full Product Details

9780300240139

Table of Contents

Reviews

Praise for The People and the Books: 18 Classics of Jewish Literature Kirsch [is] one of our most wide-ranging and perceptive literary critics. -Robert Alter, New York Times Our generation, in which many Jews can't even name the Five Books of Moses, might not deserve Adam Kirsch, but we are lucky to have him. Mr. Kirsch is one of America's finest literary critics-I would gladly read him on anything from Genesis to a Geico commercial. -Dara Horn, Wall Street Journal 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

Praise for The People and the Books: 18 Classics of Jewish Literature Kirsch [is] one of our most wide-ranging and perceptive literary critics. -Robert Alter, New York Times Our generation, in which many Jews can't even name the Five Books of Moses, might not deserve Adam Kirsch, but we are lucky to have him. Mr. Kirsch is one of America's finest literary critics-I would gladly read him on anything from Genesis to a Geico commercial. -Dara Horn, Wall Street Journal 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

Author Information

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.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available