From Agnon to Oz: Studies in Modern Hebrew Literature [Hebrew] (review)

Abstract

Hebrew Studies 38 (1997) 196 Reviews least useful, if not even loaded with cultural heritage, in the teaching of Hebrew literature to the non-fluent Hebrew student. The lack of a unifying statement or a conclusion seems to prompt the author's apology in his introduction. Neither the "reading below the surface ," nor the structuralist approach, nor the inclusion of children's literature "justifies" the group. Yet, I fmd these justifications superfluous, as Aristotelian unity is not a prerequisite for a volume of literary interpretations . There is no need to force a theoretical unity when the underlying principle is Mazor's style, his personal insights, his amiable verbosity. In that respect, this tenth book is not a deviation but rather a fortification of an interpretive approach which continues, in its own version, the traditional , albeit anachronistic, subjective detours of Klausner, Lachover, and even Sadan. Zvia Ginor Jewish Theological Seminary New York, NY 10027-4649 FROM AGNON TO OZ: STUDIES IN MODERN HEBREW LITERATURE [HEBREW]. By Warren Bargad. South Florida Studies in the History of Judaism 126. Pp. xii + 195; pp. 25. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1996. Cloth, $79.95. I have a great deal of respect for American scholars such as Robert Alter, Abraham Holz, Alan Mintz, William Cutter, Stanley Nash, Arie Wineman, and Warren Bargad, to name just a few, who dedicated their professional lives to Hebrew language and literature and made distinctive contributions to the field on various levels. It is with this kind of respect that I read Bargad's book. This book is an anthology in which Bargad collects ten of his English articles and essays published in the 1970s and 1980s, seven reviews which were published during the same period, two Hebrew essays published in the early 1970s, and one in 1990. In general, articles which preserve a lasting literary insight remain of great interest many years after their publications, while other articles have short lives. The writing of "Exclamations, Manifestoes, and Other Literary Peripheries" was triggered by the 1972 appearance of the Hebrew journal Siman Kri'a: A Diversified Quarterly for Literature. Bargad translated, presented, and compared previous manifestoes of Hebrew journals such as Hedim, Moznayim, Likrat, Akhsanya, Akhshav, Masa (Davar), HasifrUl, Hebrew Studies 38 (1997) 197 Reviews and Siman Kri'a. He also made various comments about Siman Kri'a's manifesto and challenged some of its statements. For example, he found "ludicrous, even utterly specious" the editors' suggestion that Israeli literature prior to Siman Kri'a did not reflect an Israeli reality and did not arise out of its literary possibilities. Bargad published his article "Children and Lovers: On Yehuda Amichai's Poetic Works" in 1975. Bargad states that "the piece on Amichai's earlier volumes, the least •scholarly, item in this collection, has had the most citations and other feedback..." (p. ix). Not everyone has to agree with the author's rating of his own articles. Bargad relates some characteristics of Amichai's first four poetry volumes in terms of content and form as well as the disarming simplicity, charm and wit, relevance and insight, and aesthetic challenge and pleasure one finds in Amichai's work. Another article in the anthology is "The Image of the Arab in Israeli Literature." Bargad provides comments about the relevant works of authors such as Moshe Smilanski, Yitshak Shami, Yehuda Burla, S. Yizhar, Binyamin Tammuz, Moshe Shamir, Amos Oz, Amalya KahanaCarmon , and A. B. Yehoshua. The difficulties of providing an in-depth analysis of a certain theme in many literary works is obvious. Was it perhaps necessary or beneficial to update these articles? Would it not be beneficial to examine Siman Keri'a-not only its 24-year-old first issue-in light of its manifesto? How would Bargad rewrite his article about Amichai now, more than twenty years after its publication, in terms. of Amichai's subsequent publications, the research of Amichai's work, and Bargad's academic growth since? How would Bargad rewrite now his 20year -old article about the image of the Arab in Israeli literature in light of the voluminous applicable literature and research? In another one of his approximately 20-year-old articles, titled "The Poetic of Allusion and the Hebrew...