This book presents the lives and works of eleven Jewish women authors who lived in the Soviet Union, and who wrote and published their works in Russian. The works include poems, novels, memoirs and other writing. The book provides an overview of the life of each author, an overview of each author’s literary output, and an assessment of each author’s often conflicted view of her "feminine self" and of her "Jewish self".
At a time when the large Jewish population which lived within the Soviet Union was threatened under Stalin’s prosecutions the book provides highly-informative insights into what it was like to be a Jewish woman in the Soviet Union in this period. The writers presented are: Alexandra Brustein, Elizaveta Polonskaia, Raisa Bloch, Hanna Levina, Ol'ga Ziv, Yulia Neiman, Rahil’ Baumwohl’, Margarita Alliger, Sarah Levina-Kul’neva, Sarah Pogreb and Zinaida Mirkina.
Introduction: Jewish Women Authors of the Soviet Union and the Present Study 1. Literature and Political Regime in Russia 2. Alexandra Brushtein (1884-1968): The Tears Behind the Smiles 3. Elizaveta Polonskaia (1890-1969): Concealed a Storm of Emotion 4. Raisa Bloch (1899-1943): A Genius Unaware of Her Talent 5. Hanna Levina (1900-1969): A Jewish Communist Fighter 6. Olga Ziv (1904-1963): An Unknown Jewish Author 7. Yulia Neiman (1907-1994): Brilliant Philosopher and Poetess 8. Rahil’ Baumwohl’ (1914-2000): The Joy of Creativity and Motherhood 9. Margarita Aliger (1915-1992): A Soviet Poetess Devoted to Stalin 10. Sarah Levina-Kul’neva (1920-?): Love Story in the Era of Stalinist Prosecutions 11. Sarah Pogreb (b. 1921): The History of Silence 12. Zinaida Mirkina (b. 1926): Suffering as a Path Toward Faith Bibliography Index
Biography
Rina Lapidus is an Associate Professor at Comparative Literature Department, Bar-Ilan University, Israel.
