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Hebrew Studies 36 (1995) 242 Reviews Each of the eleven essays is broadly infonnative, superbly wrought, and convincingly argued. Alter's capacity in comparative literature adds a complementary dimension beyond his knowledge of modem Hebrew literature . Indeed, one of his implicit aims in Hebrew and Modernity is to cast Hebrew literature into a framework of world literature. The volume is geared to both infonned and general audiences. The fonner will appreciate Alter's adroit articulation and interpretation; the latter will savor his infonnativeness and extraordinary intelligence. Warren Bargad University ofFlorida Gainesville, FL 32611-8165 GENDER AND TEXT IN MODERN HEBREW AND YIDDISH LITERATURE. Naomi B. Sokoloff, Ann Lapidus Lerner, and Anita Norich, eds. pp. x + 774. New York: Jewish Theological Seminary of America; Harvard University Press, 1992. Cloth, $35.00. The absence of the woman's voice lingers in Hebrew texts from the post-biblical era through the beginning of the twentieth century. Women did not create texts; texts written by women were lost, were suppressed, or were not deemed worthy of preservation-in tum, the type of education given to Jewish women prevented them from creating texts "worthy" of preservation. On the other hand, creating texts that voice their attitude and point of view will validate the notion that women cannot produce "serious" texts worth preserving. We are not talking about the difference between central narrative and marginal narrative; rather, we are talking about the absence of a voice, the absence of role-models that will exceed traditional roles. Not unlike the horrifying image by Uri Zvi Greenberg of the amputated wing, Hebrew literature, and later Yiddish literature, created a lopsided image of verbal creativity. The absence of both text-creator and text-readers is especially noticeable in Hebrew literature. Yiddish literature, prior to the emergence of the three giants Abramovich, Rabinovich, and I. L. Peretz, created sentimental literature for women. Redeeming Yiddish literature from the wrongly attached "jargon" quality, their fiction was nevertheless addressing mostly men whose Hebrew knowledge might not have exceeded "Ein Ya'akov" but nevertheless were the implied readers in the text. Hebrew Studies 36 (1995) 243 Reviews The collection of varied articles compiled in this book addresses major aspects of contemporary issues relating to the nexus of gender to text in both Hebrew and Yiddish literature. Feminist criticism alerts scholars in all disciplines and in various cultures to re-examine anew poetical and socioliterary issues. Discussion, whether relating to a particular poet, for example, Esther Raab, whose self-image was almost masculine at times, or the interesting and often opaque poetry of Yocheved Bat-Miriam raises inevitable problems of interpretation that are theoretical in nature. It so happens that both Raab and Bat-Miriam are poets that use allusions to earlier texts. Poets like Lea Goldberg who did not go beyond biblical allusions were accused, especially by Israeli male poets and critics of the nineteen-sixties generation, with producing pleasant and elegant light poetry. Lea Goldberg writes, "I am not a maiden writing verse. I am a Poet ('Ani Meshorrer). My poem does not replace a piece of Jewelry. A poem is a poem." Clearly, the absence of a traditional Jewish education impaired the ability of women to write poems loaded with references to the sources. However, even modem Hebrew literature, as Dan Miron points out clearly, did not include women into the nineteen-twenties. The Hebrew and Yiddish canon did not include women; women's writing was not considered a part of the canon, or worthy of the canon. What is more, there was no canon that was created by women for women. The assumption that one canon is the possible one goes back to an earlier time. The insidious connection between canon and authority was the death knell for women creators who knew that regardless of their effort, they would have to change their name, their point of view, or be silent. Miron points out correctly that only when the classical tone of the heavily laden poetry gave way to the voice of the woman was that voice heard. Nevertheless, both Miron and Nathan Zach in their earlier writings were the inheritors of the highly critical tone that affected poets such as...

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