This collection brings together essays on poetry, religion, and the intersections between them, with a particular focus on Jewish literature. Adam Kirsch 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?”
“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
“Kirsch never fails to reaffirm literature’s necessity.”—Clémence Boulouque, Public Books
Adam Kirsch 