Interview with Maxim Shrayer on An anthology of Jewish-Russian literature: Two centuries of dual identity in prose and poetry, edited, selected, and cotranslated by Maxim D. Shrayer

Abstract

For over two hundred years, a distinctive Jewish-Russian culture has been part of the ferment and flourishing of world culture. Edited by a leading authority on Jewish-Russian literature, this magnificent anthology introduces readers for the first time to the full range of the Jewish-Russian literary canon, with stories and excerpts from novels, essays, memoirs, and poems by more than 130 Jewish writers who worked in the Russian language, both in Russia and in the great emigrations. The selections were chosen both for their literary quality and because they illuminate questions of Jewish history, status, and identity. Each author is extensively profiled.