Description
A Language Called Homeland
Book Summary
This volume brings together six essays exploring the work of contemporary Sephardic authors united by their use of Judeo-Spanish or Ladino. Through the analysis of different literary genres—fictional prose, non-fiction, and poetry—Alessia Cassani examines how writing in a language at risk of disappearance becomes an act of resistance and a quest for identity. The works, written over more than three decades, describe a world on the verge of dissolving that, nonetheless, shines once again within their pages.
What is it about?
The book analyzes the literary output of Sephardic authors such as Clarisse Nicoïdski, Marcel Cohen, Margalit Matitiahu, Rosa Nissán, Angelina Muñiz, Matilda and Rajel Barnatán, Denise León, Juan Gelman, and Myriam Moscona. The work focuses on how these writers employ Judeo-Spanish in its various forms to narrate stories, express emotions, and reconstruct a collective memory. Through these essays, it is revealed how language becomes a homeland, an identity-based refuge against oblivion and the diaspora.
Main Topics
- Judeo-Spanish or Ladino as a vehicle for literary expression and cultural resistance.
- The search for identity in contemporary Sephardic authors.
- Memory and oblivion in the literature of the diaspora.
- The analysis of diverse literary genres: poetry, fictional prose, and non-fiction.
- The survival of a dissolving world through the written word.
Who is it recommended for?
This book is intended for readers interested in comparative literature, Sephardic studies, and contemporary Jewish culture. It is also of great value to specialists in literary criticism, cultural history, and linguistics, as well as to anyone wishing to understand how language can be a territory of belonging and resistance.
What this book offers
- A deep analysis of the work of nine key Sephardic authors of the 20th and 21st centuries.
- A panoramic view of literature in Judeo-Spanish spanning more than thirty years.
- Keys to understanding the relationship between language, identity, and memory in diasporic contexts.
- A rigorous yet accessible academic approach to a little-known literary corpus.
- The opportunity to discover how literature can preserve an endangered cultural heritage.
Technical Data
- Author: Cassani, Alessia
- Publisher: Anthropos Editorial
- Language: Spanish
- Subject: Literature: history and criticism, Literary studies: c 1900-, Literary studies: poetry and poets, Literary studies: fiction, novelists and prose writers, Jewish studies
- Collection: Biblioteca A. Conciencia
- Binding: Paperback
- Publication date: December 2019
- Number of pages: 144
- Weight: 150 g
Editorial Assessment
This work offers a specialized and necessary look at contemporary Sephardic literature, a field of study that deserves greater attention. The selection of authors and the focus on language as a core of identity make the book a useful tool for both academics and curious readers. Its paperback format and contained length make it manageable, while the depth of its analyses positions it as a reference within literary and cultural studies.