Sunshine, Blossoms and Blood: H.N. Bialik In His Time: A Literary Biography

by Sara Feinstein

Overview

This literary biography brings the life and work of H. N. Bialik, widely known as the National Hebrew Poet, to the English reader for the first time. With appreciation for his brilliance and depth, Sara Feinstein expounds how Bialik drew upon sources in Bible, Talmud, Kabbalah, and the Hebrew poets of the Golden Age of Spain in creating an archetypal mode of writing in Modern Hebrew Literature.

In this work, segments of Bialik's best-known oeuvre are rendered in English translations that illustrate his power of expression and mastery of language. Feinstein's research and interpretation also show how Bialik intertwined personal and collective elements of imagery and emotion that endeared him to his readers. Extensive endnotes, bibliography, glossary, suggestions for further reading, and an index of works by Bialik make this literary biography of the National Hebrew Poet a valuable resource in Modern Hebrew Literature.This literary biography brings the life and work of H. N. Bialik, widely known as the National Hebrew Poet, to the English reader for the first time. With appreciation for his brilliance and depth, Sara Feinstein expounds how Bialik drew upon sources in Bible, Talmud, Kabbalah, and the Hebrew poets of the Golden Age of Spain in creating an archetypal mode of writing in Modern Hebrew Literature.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780761831426
Publisher:	University Press of America
Publication date:	03/21/2005
Pages:	432
Product dimensions:	6.40(w) x 8.96(h) x 1.28(d)

About the Author

Sara Feinstein holds a Doctor of Education from Columbia University and lectures regularly on Hebrew language and literature in the United States, Canada, Israel, and Eastern Europe.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Foreword Chapter 2 Preface Chapter 3 Acknowledgments Chapter 4 Shirati ("My Song"); Radi (Radomyshl)-Zhitomir Chapter 5 ha-Matmid ("The Diligent Talmudic Scholar"); Volozhin Chapter 6 El ha-Tsipor ("To The Bird"); Odessa Chapter 7 Al ha-Shehitah ("Upon the Slaughter"); be-Ir ha-Haregah ("City of Killings"); Kishinev Chapter 8 ha-Berekhah ("The Pool"); Megilat ha-Esh ("The Scroll of Fire"); Warsaw-Odessa Chapter 9 Akhen Hatsir ha-Am ("Surely the People is Grass"); Jaffa-Jerusalem Chapter 10 Aggadat Sheloshah ve-Arbaah ("The Legend of Three and Four"); Tel Aviv Chapter 11 Imi Zikhronah li-Verakhah ("My Mother of Blessed Memory"); Berlin, London, New York, Eastern Europe Chapter 12 Shabbat ha-Malkah ("A Sabbath Hymn"); Vienna-Tel Aviv Chapter 13 Appendix: Documents of the Pogrom in Kishinev Chapter 14 Endnotes Chapter 15 Glossary Further Reference Chapter 16 Bibliography Chapter 17 Index of Works by H.N. Bialik Chapter 18 Index Chapter 19 Author Bio

Editorial Reviews

Any critical monography on the Poet Laureate of Modern Hebrew Poetry H.N. Bialik is a major contribution to the understanding of Jewish life and culture in the 20th century.

Gershon Shaked

Dr. Feinstein captures many of the fascinating facets of the life of this key figure in the history of Hebrew literature.

Ezra Spicehandler

Sara Feinstein's literary biography of H. N. Bialik fills a major void by providing a long-overdue full-scale study in English of the life and work of the most important modern Hebrew poet. Beautifully, lovingly, and honestly written, Feinstein's book is a fitting scholarly tribute to a truly great poet.

David Stern

Bialik's resolve to preserve Jewish Folklore and Ethnography is one of the highlights of this book.

Dan Ben-Amos

The literary work of the National Hebrew Poet H. N. Bialik delighted Hebrew readers from the moment his literary career began in the 1880's until the present. Sara Feinstein's book represents her impressive effort of literary research and interpretation aimed at bringing Bialik to various English readers.

Lev Hakak

Prodigious research in archival collections on three continents enabled Dr. Feinstein to synthesize factual evidence with critical literary analysis of Bialik's body of work.

Hillel Barzel

Feinstein's biography is rich in detail and filled with critical acumen about the nature of Bialik's poetry and his place in Hebrew Literature. It is an ample, generous work, and often quite moving.

Jewish Exponent - Robert Leiter

Feinstein's biography is rich in detail and filled with critical acumen about the nature of Bialik's poetry and his place in Hebrew Literature. It is an ample, generous work, and often quite moving.
— Robert Leiter

Jewish Exponent