THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS 3 Friday, September 11, 1981 Jewish Literature's New Holocaust Theme Reflects Second Wave of Immigrants- to U.S. By BEN GALLOB NEW YORK IJTA) — The new immigrant novel, dealing with Jewish new- comers to America who sur- vived the Holocaust, re- flects a profound change in the outlook of American Jewish writers who por- trayed the earlier mass Jewish immigrants in terms of an inevitable as- similation, according to an expert in the field, Dorothy Seidman Bilik. Ms. Bilik, assistant pro- fessor in the German and Slavic languages and litera- ture department of Mary- land University, has spelled out the difference of the im- pact of the two streams of Jewish immigration on American Jewish writers in a new book, "Immigrant- Survivors," published by Let the RAIN DOCTOR write the best prescription for your sprinkler needs Jeffrey Schreiber No Sabbath Calls 968-0487 the Wesleyan University Press. She noted that nearly two million Jews came to the United States from Europe in the first half of this cen- tury. They were eager, vol- untary immigrants, work- ing class people who hoped to escape poverty and perse- cution. In contrast, she de- clared, the refugees who arrived after 1933 were richer and better edu- cated people who had been shocked•out of com- fortable existences. She asserted that nowhere are these basic dif- ferences between those experiences so apparent as in the Jewish Ameri- can fiction of this cen- tury. She declared that, as re- cently as 1971, American critics had argued that 16240 TWELVE MILE ROAD SOUTHFIELD, MICHIGAN 48076 is more than a nursing home It is pleasant atmosphere with a community room where resi- dents meet for meals, share reminiscences, planned activities, religious observances, visiting or just relaxing. Our trained professional staff provides caring support for both physical and emotional needs. 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Instead of the assimilation focus, she re- ported, the new immigrant novel is "deeply concerned with the continuing impor- tance of the Jewish experi- ence" and can be thought of "as a manifestation by Jewish American writers of a delayed post-Holocaust consciousness." She declared that the "immigrant-survivors" are the fictional counterparts of those Jews who came to the United States after World War II, who survived the ghettoes, mass murders and death camps. She wrote "they represent what re- mains of the thousand- year-old Eastern European Jewish culture of Yiddish- speaking Jews from whom the overwhelming majority of American Jews are de- scended." The action that takes place in the minds of the protagonists is of greatest importance , in post- Holocaust literature. She contended that the figure of the immigrant- survivor, while painfully examining the past from a distant perspective, provides the Jewish American writer, who seeks comprehension of the Holocaust, with a voice, a center of con- sciousness, that allows him to express not only his horror and guilt but his sense of renewed connection with the past. Ms. Bilik views the immigrant-survivor as an alienated, unassimilated and haunted Jew. Whereas earlier fictional immigrants were able to exchange their collective identity for anonymous and private careers, the Holocaust sur- vivor is thrust into a sym- bolic, sometimes -redeinp- tive role. The history of the survivor is collective his- tory — one stands for many. He is a witness, judge teacher and transmitter of cultural values and of the past, she asserted. "Examining the writings of Bernard Malamud, Isaac Bashevis Singer, Saul Be- llow and others, Ms. Bilik set forth what she called the two major categories of the post-Holocaust immigrant novel: The naturalistic or historical novel and the anatomical novel. She argued that the anatomical novel, which is discursive and philosophical, is most appropriate to the goals of the new immigrant novel. Colemans Celebrate 50th Mr. and Mrs. Joseph (Mary) Coleman of South- field were honored recently by their children and grandchildren at a party at Cong. Beth Achim on the occasion of their 50th wed- ding anniversary. Their children are: Mr. and Mrs. Arnold (Arlene) Coleman of Savannah, Ga., Dr. and Mrs. Herbert (Pat- ricia) Bircoll and Dr. and Mrs. Walter (Judith) Cole- man. The senior Colemans have eight grandchildren. The couple were married Aug. 30,1931, at the former Holbrook Synagogue. The Colemans moved to Moncton, N.B., Canada, Mr. Coleman's hometown, until 1934, when they returned to Detroit. The Colemans were honored with the dedica- tion of the Joseph and Mary Coleman Grove in the American Indepen- dence Park in Israel.. Attending the party were guests from Lauderdale Cash Increases NEW YORK (JTA) — The United Jewish Appeal national cash campaign re- ported collections of $133.4 million in the first six months of this year, an 11 percent increase in collec- tions over the first six months of 1980. 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