Edmond Jabès
The Hazard of Exile

Steven Jaron

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Legenda (General Series)

Legenda

1 December 2003  •  204pp

ISBN: 1-900755-71-8 (paperback)  •  RRP £75, $99, €85

ContemporaryFrenchPoetry

The Jewish poet Edmond Jabès, born in Cairo in 1912, characterized his writings as 'not belonging'. Drawing on unpublished archival and rare printed sources, Steven Jaron traces this sense of exile to early beginnings, while Jabès was still living in Egypt. At that time, the young writer, moving in Francophone literary circles close to the Surrealists, felt that he belonged in France. But his expectations of integration remained unfulfilled: on his arrival in Paris in 1957 after the Suez crisis, Jabès was disturbed to find persistent anti-Semitism. This led him to assume what he called his 'Jewish condition', and in his critically acclaimed Livre des Questions cycle (1963-73) the Shoah became a focal point. Jaron examines how Jabès's oeuvre formed a cohesive whole, providing the exile with the homeland he lacked.

Steven Jaron holds a PhD in French and Comparative Literature from Columbia University, and a DESS in clinical psychology from the University of Paris-VII. He practises as a clinical psychologist in Paris.

Reviews:

  • ‘A meticulously researched account of backgrounds to Edmond Jabès's poetry... Its focus on the early period in Egypt brings to view an aspect of Jabès's life not much otherwise looked at. And it raises many questions vital to understanding Jabès.’ — Shira Wolosky, Partial Answers 4.1, 2006, 201-04

Bibliography entry:

Jaron, Steven, Edmond Jabès: The Hazard of Exile (Legenda, 2003)

First footnote reference: 35 Steven Jaron, Edmond Jabès: The Hazard of Exile (Legenda, 2003), p. 21.

Subsequent footnote reference: 37 Jaron, p. 47.

(To see how these citations were worked out, follow this link.)

Bibliography entry:

Jaron, Steven. 2003. Edmond Jabès: The Hazard of Exile (Legenda)

Example citation: ‘A quotation occurring on page 21 of this work’ (Jaron 2003: 21).

Example footnote reference: 35 Jaron 2003: 21.

(To see how these citations were worked out, follow this link.)

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