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PREFACE
- State University of New York Press
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PREFACE What should I call it? I pondered, listing and rejecting titles such as Bernard Malamud's Fiction (too prosaic), Bernard Malamud and the Critics (too harsh), or The Many Worlds of Bernard Malamud (a possibility but too vague). Titling a manuscript seems more difficult than naming children, though in both cases the effects are generally indelible. As usual, author Bernard Malamud provided the answer. Taken together his works consist of different worlds, the shtetl, the university, the ballfield, New York ghettoes, rural Vermont, Italy, and Russia. Separated by education, class, age, and sensibilities, as well as settings, the characters, nevertheless, are often touched by the author's magic, offered a "new life" in the guise of the old, and transformed emotionally or spiritually into different, usually better people. In works where the magic fails, as in The Tenants or God's Grace, its presence is still felt, highlighting the absence of grace. "The Magic Barrel," I thought, embodies the tensions, struggles, and above all the redemptiveness of Malamud's fiction. "Magic" and "Worlds" capture the essence of his landscapes. It is Bernard Malamud who must be thanked for inspiring this book as the warm, personal recollections of the man and the penetrating analysis of his work testify. And I must thank my contributors for their cooperation. Their willingness to revise and meet deadlines was itself inspirational. I would like to thank Ann Malamud for encouragement and interest and my husband Don and sons Peter and Daniel for their ongoing support. Finally, I would like to acknowledge the contribution of Towson University 's Faculty Development Fund, which provided me with release time to work on the book, the Dean's fund for manuscript preparation, the English Department Chair, Clarinda Harriss, for enthusiastic embraces, and the department secretaries, Nancy ZeIlinger and Deana Johnson for the ix x PREFACE skills which I lack. I also am grateful to SUNY's production editor, Kelli Williams for her patience and assistance, and to James Peltz and Sarah Blacher Cohen, SUNY editors, whose support transformed my manuscript into a book. ...