Copley, H. 2020. ‘A small, fierce being’: Jon Silkin, Isaac Rosenberg, and the definition of the Anglo-Jewish poet. Textual Practice. https://doi.org/10.1080/0950236x.2020.1839954
| Title | ‘A small, fierce being’: Jon Silkin, Isaac Rosenberg, and the definition of the Anglo-Jewish poet |
|---|---|
| Type | Journal article |
| Authors | Copley, H. |
| Abstract | Despite being “one of the most distinctive and distinguished of those British poets who began to publish in the 1950s”, the writer, editor, critic, and translator Jon Silkin remains a largely forgotten figure in contemporary poetry. However, with the publication his Complete Poems in 2015 and the availability of his archive, there has been a renewed critical interest in the charismatic, prolific, and contentious poet. Drawing heavily from Silkin’s unpublished correspondence, this article contributes to this revival by exploring his place within the post-1945 Anglo-Jewish community and his relationship to his Jewish identity and cultural heritage. In particular, it investigates how the First World War poet (and fellow Anglo-Jew) Isaac Rosenberg became a vital means through which Silkin articulated his poetic identity as one caught between two hyphenated cultures and histories and defined his relationship with his Anglo-Jewish contemporaries. |
| Keywords | Literature and Literary Theory |
| Journal | Textual Practice |
| ISSN | 0950-236X |
| 1470-1308 | |
| Year | 2020 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis |
| Accepted author manuscript | File Access Level Open (open metadata and files) |
| Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.1080/0950236x.2020.1839954 |
| Web address (URL) | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0950236X.2020.1839954 |
| Publication dates | |
| Published online | 02 Nov 2020 |
| Page range | 1-18 |