Synopses & Reviews
Even among scholars of Jewish literature, Jewish American women writers have been largely neglected. Nevertheless, these women have made an enormous contribution to literature and culture. This reference explores the extraordinary achievement of Jewish American women novelists, poets, and playwrights who have written in English. Every effort was made to provide a representative selection of writers, and the final list was determined after consultation with specialists and scholars.
The volume is composed mainly of entries arranged alphabetically by writer. Many of these women have an indisputable place in the literary canon, while others are relative newcomers to the field. Still others are being rediscovered after years of neglect. The profiles provide a biography, bibliography, and survey of criticism for each author. Each also provides an analysis of the writer's work by a scholar in Jewish American literature, women's studies, or a related field. An introductory essay defines the scope of Jewish American women's literature, while a special chapter is devoted to writers of autobiographies who document the experience of Jewish women in America.
Review
This reference work presents 57 authors, each of whom receives an alphabetically arranged entry that includes a one-page biography, an essay on the author's major themes, survey of criticism, and bibliographies of works by and about the author. The 56 contributors represent an impressive array of institutions. This is a useful first step for anyone looking for a single place to find basic information. Highly recommended for all academic libraries.Choice
Review
This volume focuses on three aspects of each Author - her life, her work, and critical analysis of some of those works. This title would be most appropriate for large public libraries or academic libraries with ethnic or women's studies collections.Booklist/Reference Books Bulletin
Review
Thumbs up! This book promises to be one of the most outstanding reference sources published in 1994.Menorah Review
Synopsis
"...will be of great assistance to comparative literature and Jewish women's studies instructors as well as readers interested in finding out something about the lives of these authors, other books they've written, and analysis by reviewers and other critics." Feminist Collections
Synopsis
Even among scholars of Jewish literature, Jewish American women writers have been largely neglected, despite the enormous contribution they have made. This volume explores the extraordinary achievement of Jewish American women novelists, poets, and playwrights who have written in English. A reference work, composed mainly of entries arranged alphabetically by writer, the book provides a biography, bibliography, and survey of criticism for each, along with a critical analysis.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. [521]-523) and index.
Table of Contents
Foreword by Sarah Blacher Cohen
Introduction
Mary Antin by Kristen Wasson
Ann Birstein by Ludger Brinker
E.M. Broner by Ann R. Shapiro
Rosellen Brown by Karen Wilkes Gainey
Hortense Calisher by Marcia Littenberg
Kim Chernin by Jerilyn Fisher
Andrea Dworkin by Meryl Schwartz
Edna Ferber by Daniel Walden
Rebecca Goldstein by Sylvia Barack Fishman
Allegra Goodman by C. Beth Burch
Joanne Greenberg by Barbara Lovenheim
Lillian Hellman by Bruce Henderson
Bette Howland by Babette Inglehart
Fannie Hurst by Carol Batker
Joyce Johnson by Blossom Kirschenbaum
Erica Jong by Bruce Henderson
Johanna Kaplan by Evelyn Avery
Ilona Karmel by Sara Horwitz
Shirley Kaufman by Devon Miller-Duggan
Irena Klepfisz by Ronit Lentin
Edith Konecky by Merla Wolk
Maxine Kumin by Deborah Lambert Brown
Emma Lazarus by Diane Lichtenstein
Rhoda Lerman by Claire Satlof
Karen Malpede by Cindy Rosenthal
Emily Mann by Ellen Schiff
Daphne Merkin by Carolyn A. Sofia
Robin Morgan by Elizabeth Q. Sullivan
Leslea Newman by Annie Dawid
Tillie Olsen by Kay Hoyle Nelson
Alicia Ostriker by Maeera Y. Shreiber
Cynthia Ozick by S. Lillian Kremer
Grace Paley by Victoria Aarons
Linda Pastan by Gerda Norvig
Marge Piercy by Jaye Berman Montresor
Francine Prose by Rena Potok
Nessa Rapoport by Sharon Deykin Baris
Tova Reich by Blossom Kirschenbaum
Adrienne Rich by Karen Alkalay-Gut
Anne Roiphe by Carolyn Hoyt
Norma Rosen by Suzanne Kligenstein
Muriel Rukeyser by Janet Kaufman
Susan Fromberg Schaeffer by Dorothy Bilik
Lynne Sharon Schwartz by Susan Meyer
Lore Segal by Adam Meyer
Jo Sinclair by Gay Wilentz
Tess Slesinger by Harvey Teres
Susan Sontag by Sherry Linkon
Bella Spewack by Elizabeth Drorbaugh
Gertrude Stein by Linda Wagner-Martin
Elizabeth Swados by Dorothy Chansky
Wendy Wasserstein by Iska Alter
Ruth Whitman by Miriyam Glazer
Emma Wolf by Barbara Cantalupo
Susan Yankowitz by Len Berkman
Anzia Yezierska by Tobe Levin
Helen Yglesias by Lewis Fried
Jewish American Women's Autobiography by Barbara Shollar
Glossary
Index