Abstract

"Violating the Canon" makes the case for an alternative Jewish and literary space in the context of Soviet war literature by comparing works by Vasilii Grossman, Il'ia Erenburg, and the Yiddish author Der Nister. In this article, Harriet Murav distinguishes the question of literary value from the question of identity and separates out the problem of determining the typicality or representativeness of a work from the problem of engaging the complexity of its meanings. Jewish literature from the Soviet Union ought to be recovered from the constraints that subordinate it to Cold War-era sociological and political constraints. Mikhail Bakhtin, Werner Sollors, and Michael Warner provide approaches that allow access to more fluid and open-ended readings.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)642-661
Number of pages20
JournalSlavic Review
Volume67
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - 2008

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Cultural Studies
  • Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)

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