ABOUT THIS BOOK

Nearly two million Jewish men, women, and children emigrated from Eastern Europe between 1882 and 1924 and settled in, or passed through, the Lower East Side of New York City. Sanford Sternlicht tells the story of his own childhood in this vibrant neighborhood and puts it within the context of fourteen early twentieth-century East Side writers. Anzia Yezierska, Abraham Cahan, Michael Gold, and Henry Roth, and others defined this new "Jewish homeland" and paved the way for the later great Jewish American novelists.
Sternlicht discusses the role of women, the Yiddish Theater, secular values, the struggle between generations, street crime, politics, labor unions, and the importance of newspapers and periodicals. He documents the decline of Yiddish culture as these immigrants blended into what they called "The Golden Land."

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

Sanford Sternlicht, author of many books, including Student Companion to Elie Wiesel and Chaim Potok: A Critical Companion, is professor of English at Syracuse University. This book draws upon Sternlicht’s popular talks and lessons to students on field trips to the Lower East Side, where they experience its sights, sounds, history, and monuments (such as the famous Katz’s Deli).

REVIEWS

"History, the Old Country, work, leisure and entertainment, politics, women and children, crime—these are some of the many aspects of Jewish immigrant life Sternlicht covers in his wide-ranging introduction to life on the Lower East Side."—Harvey Teres, author of Renewing the Left: Politics, Imagination, and the New York Intellectual

"‘Roots-gathering,’ Jewish style!"—Sanford Pinsker, author of The Schlemiel as Metaphor

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Contents
Preface 000
Acknowledgments 000
Part One
The Lower East Side: Cultural History and Topography 000
	Where Did They Come From? 000
	Immigrant Life 000
	The Immigrant Woman and the Family 000
	Education 000
	Work 000
	The Triangle Shirtwaist Company Fire and the Rise of Labor Laws 000
	The Public Forum: Newspapers and Periodicals 000
	Reading 000
	Religion and Secularism 000
	Prostitution 000
	Other Crime 000
	The Impact of Historical Events 000
	The Yiddish Theater 000
	Other Recreation and Entertainment 000
	Food 000
	The Tenement Museum on Orchard Street 000
	Moving On 000
Part Two
Early Jewish American Writers 000
	Antecedents in American Literature 000
	Themes 000
	City Fiction 000
Abraham Cahan 000
Anzia Yezierska 000
Rose Cohen 000
Marcus Eli Ravage 000
Samuel Ornitz 000
Marie Ganz 000
Ben Hecht 000
Michael Gold 000
Samson Raphaelson 000
Marya Zaturenska 000
Louis Zukofsky 000
Sydney Taylor 000
Henry Roth 000
Harry Roskolenko 000
Conclusion: A Group Picture from the Williamsburg Bridge 000
Selected Bibliography 000
Index 000

REQUEST ACCESSIBLE FILE

If you are a student who cannot use this book in printed form, BiblioVault may be able to supply you with an electronic file for alternative access.

Please have the accessibility coordinator at your school fill out this form.

It can take 2-3 weeks for requests to be filled.