A compelling biography of an important eyewitness to the twentieth century.
Marie Syrkin’s life spanned ninety years of the twentieth century, 1899–1989. As a polemical journalist, socialist Zionist, poet, educator, literary critic, translator, and idiosyncratic feminist, she was an eyewitness to and reporter on most of the major events in America, Israel, and Europe. Beautiful as well as brilliant, she had a rich personal life as a lover, wife, mother, and friend. During her lifetime Syrkin’s name was widely recognized in the world of Jewish life and letters. Yet, since Syrkin’s death, recognition of her name is no longer quite so immediate. Carole S. Kessner’s biography restores Syrkin’s fascinating life and legacy for a new generation.
Marie Syrkin’s life spanned ninety years of the twentieth century, 1899–1989. As a polemical journalist, socialist Zionist, poet, educator, literary critic, translator, and idiosyncratic feminist, she was an eyewitness to and reporter on most of the major events in America, Israel, and Europe. Beautiful as well as brilliant, she had a rich personal life as a lover, wife, mother, and friend. During her lifetime Syrkin’s name was widely recognized in the world of Jewish life and letters. Yet, since Syrkin’s death, recognition of her name is no longer quite so immediate. Carole S. Kessner’s biography restores Syrkin’s fascinating life and legacy for a new generation.
504 pages | 16 halftones | 6 x 9 | © 2008
Reviews
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
PART I
Chapter 1. Marie’s Birthright
Chapter 2. A Bronx Adolescence
Chapter 3. That Fabulous Summer: Maurice
Chapter 4. Elopement and Annulment
Chapter 5. Marriage, Motherhood, and Tragedy
Chapter 6. David, Divorce, and the Death of Nachman
Chapter 7. A New Life: Charles
PART II
Chapter 8. An Unorthodox Marriage: Palestine and Hollywood
Chapter 9. At the Nexus of the “Jewish Problem”
Chapter 10. On the Jewish Frontier: The Twenty-First Zionist Congress
Chapter 11. The War, the White Paper, and the Rescue of the Jews
Chapter 12. Wartime Horrors: Personal Unhappiness
Chapter 13. Postwar Projects: DP Camps, Blessed is the Match, Israel
Chapter 14. Academia at Last: The Brandeis Years
Epilogue
Notes
Index
Introduction
PART I
Chapter 1. Marie’s Birthright
Chapter 2. A Bronx Adolescence
Chapter 3. That Fabulous Summer: Maurice
Chapter 4. Elopement and Annulment
Chapter 5. Marriage, Motherhood, and Tragedy
Chapter 6. David, Divorce, and the Death of Nachman
Chapter 7. A New Life: Charles
PART II
Chapter 8. An Unorthodox Marriage: Palestine and Hollywood
Chapter 9. At the Nexus of the “Jewish Problem”
Chapter 10. On the Jewish Frontier: The Twenty-First Zionist Congress
Chapter 11. The War, the White Paper, and the Rescue of the Jews
Chapter 12. Wartime Horrors: Personal Unhappiness
Chapter 13. Postwar Projects: DP Camps, Blessed is the Match, Israel
Chapter 14. Academia at Last: The Brandeis Years
Epilogue
Notes
Index