1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910953489303321

Autore

Berg Nancy E

Titolo

Exile from exile : Israeli writers from Iraq / / Nancy E. Berg

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Albany, : State University of New York Press, 1996

ISBN

9780791496428

0791496422

9780585042664

0585042667

Edizione

[1st ed.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (xvi, 212 pages)

Collana

SUNY series in Israeli studies

Disciplina

892.4/3609920694

Soggetti

Israeli fiction - History and criticism

Arabic literature - Jewish authors - History and criticism

Arabic literature - Iraq - History and criticism

Jews, Iraqi - Israel - Intellectual life

Judaism and literature - Israel

Judaism and literature - Iraq

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Front Matter -- Half Title Page -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Dedication Page -- Table of Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Preface -- Content -- PART ONE: THE LITERATURE OF EXILE AND IRAQI JEWISH WRITING -- Exile, Literature, and Jewish Writers -- The Jewish Community in Iraq -- Jewish Writers of Modern Iraqi Fiction -- PART TWO: NARRATIVE WRITINGS OF THE IRAQI JEWS IN ISRAEL -- The Choice of Language -- The Experience of Transition: First Novels in Hebrew -- Childhood and Home in Iraq: Narratives in Arabic -- Different Perspectives on Life in Iraq: Narratives in Hebrew -- Conclusion -- Back Matter -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index -- Back Cover.

Sommario/riassunto

The standard histories of Israeli literature limit the canon, virtually ignoring those who came to Israel from Jewish communities in the Middle East. By focusing on the work of Iraqi-born authors, this book offers a fundamental rethinking of the canon and of Israeli literary history.The story of these writers challenges common conceptions of



exile and Zionist redemption. At the heart of this book lies the paradox that the dream of ingathering the exiles has made exiles of the ingathered. Upon arriving in Israel, these writers had to decide whether to continue writing in their native language, Arabic, or begin in a new language, Hebrew. The author reveals how Israeli works written in Arabic depict different memories of Iraq from those written in Hebrew. In addition, her analysis of the early novels of Hebrew writers set against the experience of "transit camps" (ma'abarot) argues for a re-evaluation of the significance of this neglected literary subgenre.