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The Object of Jewish Literature: A Material History

Online ISBN:
9780300265385
Print ISBN:
9780300234114
Publisher:
Yale University Press
Book

The Object of Jewish Literature: A Material History

Barbara E. Mann
Barbara E. Mann
Jewish Theological Seminary
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Published online:
19 January 2023
Published in print:
26 July 2022
Online ISBN:
9780300265385
Print ISBN:
9780300234114
Publisher:
Yale University Press

Abstract

With the rise of digital media, the “death of the book” has been widely discussed. But the physical object of the book persists. Here, through the lens of materiality and objects, this book tells a history of modern Jewish literature, from novels and poetry to graphic novels and artists' books. Bringing contemporary work on secularism and design in conversation with literary history, the book offers a new and distinctive frame for understanding how literary genres emerge. The long twentieth century, a period of tremendous physical upheaval and geographic movement, witnessed the production of a multilingual canon of writing by Jewish authors. Literature's objecthood is felt not only in the physical qualities of books—bindings, covers, typography, illustrations—but also through the ways in which materiality itself became a practical foundation for literary expression.

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