Adam Stepnowski
Studia Judaica, Issue 1 (45), 2020, pp. 111 - 137
https://doi.org/10.4467/24500100STJ.20.004.12918This article explores queer traits in the early poetry of Shmuel Yankev Imber. The paper identifies those spaces, where the sexual identity of the lyrical “I”was fluid and defied the sexual, social and literary norms of the poet’s time. The article emphasizes acts of self-censorship that occurred within Imber’s oeuvre in the short period between 1909 and 1914 when the poet published his second book. The article also discusses the social and literary context in which Imber lived and worked.
Adam Stepnowski
Studia Judaica, Issue 1 (47), 2021, pp. 123 - 151
https://doi.org/10.4467/24500100STJ.21.005.14607The article explores a model of construing gender in Yiddish shund (trash) literature. The author focuses on three aspects—womanhood, manhood, and relationships—comparing both cultural ideals and historical reality of Ashkenazic Jewry at the end of the nineteenth century with the gender roles constructed in the novels. The focus is placed on the stories of Nokhem Meir Shaykevitch (Shomer), the most popular shund writer of that time. The author of the article emphasizes the gender ideals in Shomer’s novels and investigates possible ideological inspirations that led the writer to bring the ideals to a textual level.