102 Friday, September 9, 1983
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Scholar Reviving Lewisohn's Writings
By BEN GALLOB
ings. Lewisohn edited the
Collection and wrote a
lengthy introduction
which Lainoff said "is
one of the best studies of
Herzl ever done."
(Copyright 1983, JTA, INnc.)
Neglect by modern
readers and critics of some
of the writings of Ludwig
Lewisohn, a pioneering
20th Century American
Jewish writer, "do not de-
serve the neglect they have
received" from today's cri-
tics and readers, in the view
of a Yeshiva University pro-
fessor of English.
Dr. Seymour Lainoff, Ab-
raham Wouk Family Pro-
fessor of English, has writ-
ten a book on Lewisohn for
the Twayne United States
Authors Series. Lainoff said
he had unearthed some of
Lewisohn's almost forgot-
ten writing and he called on
readers to pay attention
again to Lewisohn. He said
Lewisohn was one of the
first writers to declare that
American Jews should pro-
tect themselves from melt-
ing into mainstream
American society. The
book's title is "Ludwig
Lewisohn."
Lainoff said that when he
decided to take an in-depth
look at Lewisohn's work, he
started "with a lot of an-
tagonism. The stigma at-
tached to Lewisohn was un-
pleasant." Lewisohn, who
died in 1955 after producing
more than 40 books, includ-
ing novels, literary and
dramatic criticism, au-
tobiographies and polemi-
cal books about Israel, had
had "a bad press" during
much of his career, Lainoff
said.
Lewisohn's three mar-
riages and his 16-year
extra-marital relation-
ship with a young singer
had made him a sensa-
tional newspaper per-
sonality. Many of his cri-
tics labeled him a neuro-
tic, Lainoff said.
While most of Lewisohn's
work is out of print, one
book that is still in print is
"The Island Within,"
Lewisohn's fictional attack
on Jews who assimilate.
Lainoff declared that "the
main theme" of Lewisohn's
fiction "is the self-
destruction wrought by the
loss of one's religious iden-
tity."
The scholar said that
theme is particularly sur-
prising in light of the fact
LUDWIG LEWISOHN
that Lewisohn came from a
very assimilated back-
ground. Born in Berlin in
1883, he emigrated with his
parents to the United States
in 1890. They then settled
in Charleston and there
Lewisohn grew up in the
Methodist church. It was
not until he faced anti-
Semitism while studying
for a graduate degree at
New York's Columbia Uni-
versity that Lewisohn
began to think of himself as
a Jew.
When he died, the Jewish
Post eulogized him as "the
first great American liter-
ary spokesman for the.
Zionist movement." He had
been advocating a Jewish
state in Palestine since
1925, when he published
"Israel," and he served for a
time as editor of "New
Palestine," a publication of
the Zionist Organization of
America.
Lewisohn also wrote
"Theodor Herzl: A Por-
trait for This Age," a col-
lection of Herzl's writ-
Lainoff thinks one of
Lewisohn's best books is a
novel, "The Case of Mr.
Crump," now out of print.
He called the novel, about a
man struggling in an un-
happy marriage, an "excel-
lent study. It is ugly and
painful but it is also truth-
ful. It is one of the best
American novels of the
1920s" which "certainly de-
serves better than its pre-
sent oblivion."
When Lewisohn is re-
membered now at all,
Lainoff said, he is often re-
membered as a neurotic
writer, adding that "I want
to re-introduce what is of
value in his work and make
people see him more objec-
tively and accept him more
positively."
Best wishes for a
happy, healthy
New Year
MRS. SHULA GOLDOFTAS
We wi- sh our family and friends a
very healthy, happy and prosperous
New Year
We wish our family and friends a
very healthy, happy and prosperous
New Year.
PETER & SHIRLYE HELMAN & FAMILY
We wish our family and friends a
very healthy, happy and prosperous
New . Year
HELEN & HENRY MALTER & FAMILIES
We wish our family and friends a
very healthy, happy and prosperous
New Year
REBECCA, BYRON & JANICE LIEBERWITZ
LILLIAN & SEYMOUR GALLANT
RITA & IRVING LIPSKY
THE RADOMER AID SOCIETY
A HEALTHY & HAPPY
NEW YEAR
WISH ALL THEIR FRIENDS
Wish all their members
and friends a Happy, Healthy
and Prosperous New Year
Nate Wolok, President
Oscar Tuttleman & Helen Greenberg, Vice Presidents
Rita Ager, Honorary Vice President
•
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May the coming year be
one filled with health,
happiness and
prosperity for all our
friends and family.
NATHAN GOLDIN
To All Our
Relatives
and Friends,
Our wish for a
year filled with
happiness,
health and prosperity
ASA & SARA SHAPIRO & SONS
Romania's Jews
BUCHAREST There
are approximately 30,000
Jews left in Romania, which
had a pre-war, Jewish popu-
lation of 800,000.
Almost half of Romania's
remaining Jews live in
Bucharest. Although the
bulk of the Jewish popula-
tion are elderly survivors of
the Holocaust, the Ameri-
can Jewish Joint Distribu-
tion Committee reports that
Jewish homes for the aged
in Romania have a total
capacity of 446.
Wishing a happy, healthy
and prosperous New Year
to all our friends
May Real Peace Come to Israel!
Herzog Sworn in at Knesset
•
Chaim Herzog, right, is sworn in in May, 1983 as
Israel's sixth president at the Knesset. Pictured with
him, are, from left: former President Yitzhak Navon
and Knesset speaker Menaheni Savidor.
Mr. and Mrs. Max Stollman
and Family
Philip Stollman and Family