The tenement saga : the Lower East Side and early Jewish American writers / Sanford Sternlicht.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Sternlicht, Sanford, 1931-2021.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

American literature--Jewish authors--History and criticism.

American literature--Jewish authors.

American literature--New York (State)--New York--History and criticism.

American literature.

History.

Intellectual life.

Judaism and literature.

Jews.

Jewish authors.

New York (State)--New York.

Authors, American--Homes and haunts--New York (State)--New York.

Authors, American--Homes and haunts.

Jewish authors--Homes and haunts--New York (State)--New York.

Jews--New York (State)--New York--Intellectual life.

Judaism and literature--New York (State)--New York.

Lower East Side (New York, N.Y.)--Intellectual life.

Lower East Side (New York, N.Y.)--In literature.

Tenement houses--New York (State)--New York.

Tenement houses.

Lower East Side (New York, N.Y.)--History.

Immigrants in literature.

Jews in literature.

New York (State)--New York--Lower East Side.

New York (State).

Physical Description:

xv, 171 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Madison, Wis. : University of Wisconsin Press/Terrace Books, [2004]

Summary:

Nearly two million Jewish men, women, and children emigrated from Eastern Europe between 1882 and 1924 and settled in, or passed through, the Lower East Side of New York City. Sanford Sternlicht tells the story of his own childhood in this vibrant neighborhood and puts it within the context of fourteen early twentieth-century East Side writers. Anzia Yezierska, Abraham Cahan, Michael Gold, and Henry Roth, and others defined this new "Jewish homeland" and paved the way for the later great Jewish American novelists. Sternlicht discusses the role of women, the Yiddish Theater, secular values, the struggle between generations, street crime, politics, labor unions, and the importance of newspapers and periodicals. He documents the decline of Yiddish culture as these immigrants blended into what they called "The Golden Land."

Contents:

Part 1 The Lower East Side

Cultural History and Topography 3

Where Did They Come From? 3

Immigrant Life 10

The Immigrant Woman and the Family 14

Education 17

Work 21

The Triangle Shirtwaist Company Fire and the Rise of Labor Laws 28

The Public Forum: Jewish Newspapers and Periodicals 30

Religion and Secularism 34

Prostitution 35

Other Types of Crime 37

The Impact of Historical Events 39

The Yiddish Theater 44

Other Forms of Recreation and Entertainment 48

Food 50

The Lower East Side Tenement Museum on Orchard Street 55

Moving On 56

Part 2 Early Jewish American Writers

The Writers 61

Antecedents in American Literature 62

Themes 62

City Fiction 64

Abraham Cahan 66

Anzia Yezierska 82

Rose Cohen 91

Marcus Eli Ravage 95

Samuel Ornitz 98

Marie Ganz 103

Ben Hecht 107

Michael Gold 111

Samson Raphaelson 118

Marya Zaturenska 122

Louis Zukofsky 124

Sydney Taylor 127

Henry Roth 130

Harry Roskolenko 150

Conclusion: A Group Picture from the Williamsburg Bridge 155.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 163-164) and index.

ISBN:

0299204804

0299204847

OCLC:

55616288