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Elisheva Carlebach (Columbia, History and IIJS) in conversation with Isabelle Levy (Columbia, IIJS) on the occasion of the publication of Isabelle Levy’s book: Jewish Literary Eros. Between Poetry and Prose in the Medieval Mediterranean (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2022).
In Jewish Literary Eros, Isabelle Levy explores the originality and complexity of medieval Jewish writings. Examining medieval prosimetra (texts composed of alternating prose and verse), Levy demonstrates that secular love is the common theme across Arabic, Hebrew, French, and Italian texts. At the crossroads of these spheres of intellectual activity, Jews of the medieval Mediterranean composed texts that combined dominant cultures’ literary stylings with biblical Hebrew and other elements from Jewish cultures. Levy explores Jewish authors’ treatments of love in prosimetra and finds them creative, complex, and innovative. Jewish Literary Eros compares the mixed-form compositions by Jewish authors of the medieval Mediterranean with their Arabic and European counterparts to find the particular moments of innovation among textual practices by Jewish authors.
This event is in-person. Please note that proof of vaccination is required to enter Columbia University buildings.
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Columbia University
