Reviews
"The Wartime Diary of Edmund Kessler is a slim volume with considerable power. In prose and poetry, Kessler describes the conditions of Jewish life in the large but understudied ghetto of Lwow, Poland. His observations are keen, precise, his tone reserved and understated. He writes simply: "needless to say, conditions were difficult." Elsewhere he says: "I owe my survival to the fact that admirable people still in the world." -- Michael Berenbaum, Director, Sigi Ziering Institute, Professor of Jewish Studies, American Jewish University (Los Angeles), "Ivan Konevskoi (1877-1901) strove throughout his tragically brief earthly life to "abolish death" by penetrating the mystic core of the universe. His earthly survival has now been notably enhanced by Joan Grossman's splendid book, a comprehensive account of the poet's life, thought, and accomplishments. Deeply sympathetic but always clear-eyed and sensible, Grossman's narrative is exhaustively researched but never pedantic, engagingly written and rich in illuminations derived from the author's lifelong study of Russian poetry, especially of the Symbolist era."-- Hugh McLean, Professor Emeritus, University of California, Berkeley, "The Wartime Diary of Edmund Kessler is not only a gripping account of the fate of Lwow Jewry during the war but also a unique mirror of the parallel perspectives of the rescued and their rescuers. This rich collection includes Kessler's wartime diary, his wartime poetry, and a 1998 memoir by Kazimierz Kalwinski, the son of the Polish couple who hid Kessler, his wife and 22 other Jews on their farm. Kessler was not what many regard as "a typical Polish Jew." He was an accomplished attorney, highly educated and spoke Polish as his first language. But in a way, Kessler was representative of a now destroyed subculture, the rich world of pre-war acculturated middle class Galician Jewry, a world which combined a deep love of Polish culture with a strong devotion to Jewish identity. Kessler was both an attorney and a poet, a shrewd observer for whom the horrors that he was experiencing only encouraged him to reaffirm his humanity through poetry of witness. It is especially important that this collection includes Kalwinski's memoirs. To hide Jews in German occupied Poland was to expose oneself and one's family to the risk of execution. It was not so easy to procure food and to secure a hiding place from the scrutiny of prying eyes at a time when Germans were conducting constant searches for food and for hidden arms. How does one do this for 24 people? This book is indeed an important addition to our knowledge of the Holocaust."-- Samuel Kassow, Charles H Northam professor of history, Trinity College (Hartford, CT), author of Who Will Write Our History?, "Joan Grossman's spiritual biography of "poet-mystic-thinker" Ivan Konevskoi (Oreus) fills a large gap in the scholarship on early Russian modernism. Although never entirely forgotten, Konevskoi was largely ignored by scholars in both Russia and in the West, before the appearance of this substantial monograph. With the superb knowledge of her subject-matter that years of painstaking and engaged research have given her, Grossman guides us through the poet's short, but intense, quest for immortality through his own brand of pantheism. As Grossman shows, Konevskoi's spiritual journey, which ended prematurely by accidental drowning, has many intriguing stops along the way. Grossman makes this journey entertaining and informative. This is a major work by a distinguished scholar, which is bound to stimulate further research of this elusive poet."-- Irene Masing-Delic, Ohio State University, "The Wartime Diary of Edmund Kessler is not only a gripping account of the fate of Lwow Jewry during the war but also a unique mirror of the parallel perspectives of the rescued and their rescuers. This rich collection includes Kessler's wartime diary, his wartime poetry, and a 1998 memoir by Kazimierz Kalwinski, the son of the Polish couple who hid Kessler, his wife and 22 other Jews on their farm. Kessler was not what many regard as "a typical Polish Jew." He was an accomplished attorney, highly educated and spoke Polish as his first language. But in a way, Kessler was representative of a now destroyed subculture, the rich world of pre-war acculturated middle class Galician Jewry, a world which combined a deep love of Polish culture with a strong devotion to Jewish identity. Kessler was both an attorney and a poet, a shrewd observer for whom the horrors that he was experiencing only encouraged him to reaffirm his humanity through poetry of witness. It is especially important that this collection includes Kalwinski's memoirs. To hide Jews in German occupied Poland was to expose oneself and one's family to the risk of execution. It was not so easy to procure food and to secure a hiding place from the scrutiny of prying eyes at a time when Germans were conducting constant searches for food and for hidden arms. How does one do this for 24 people? This book is indeed an important addition to our knowledge of the Holocaust."
Synopsis
Ivan Konevskoi: "Wise Child" of Russian Symbolism is the first study in any language of Ivan Konevskoi -- poet, thinker, mystic- - for many decades the "lost genius" of Russian modernism. A fresh and compelling figure, Konevskoi plunged deeply into the currents of modern mystical thought and art in the 1890s. A passionate searcher for immortality, he developed his own version of pantheism meant to guard his unique persona from dissolution in the All-One. The poetry of Tiutchev, Vladimir Solov'ev Soloviev and Rossetti, William James's psychology, paintings of Pre-Raphaelites and Arnold Boecklin, Old Russian historical myth, the Finnish Kalevala: all engaged him during his brief life. His worldview grew more audacious, his confidence in the magical power of the word grew more assured. Drowning in 1901 at 23, Konevskoi left a legacy unfinished, rich, and intriguing., Provides the first study in any language of Ivan Konevskoi - poet, thinker, mystic - and for many decades the lost genius of Russian modernism. A fresh and compelling figure, Konevskoi plunged deeply into the currents of modern mystical thought and art in the 1890s. A passionate searcher for immortality, he developed his own version of pantheism meant to guard his unique persona from dissolution in the All-One., Ivan Konevskoi: "Wise Child" of Russian Symbolism is the first study in any language of Ivan Konevskoi --- poet, thinker, mystic-- - for many decades the "lost genius" of Russian modernism. A fresh and compelling figure, Konevskoi plunged deeply into the currents of modern mystical thought and art in the 1890s. A passionate searcher for immortality, he developed his own version of pantheism meant to guard his unique persona from dissolution in the All-One. The poetry of Tiutchev, Vladimir Solov'ev Soloviev and Rossetti, William James's psychology, paintings of Pre-Raphaelites and Arnold Boecklin, Old Russian historical myth, the Finnish Kalevala: all engaged him during his brief life. His worldview grew more audacious, his confidence in the magical power of the word grew more assured. Drowning in 1901 at 23, Konevskoi left a legacy unfinished, rich, and intriguing., Ivan Konevskoi: "Wise Child" of Russian Symbolism is the first study in any language of Ivan Konevskoi -- poet, thinker, mystic -- for many decades the "lost genius" of Russian modernism. A fresh and compelling figure, Konevskoi plunged deeply into the currents of modern mystical thought and art in the 1890s. A passionate searcher for immortality, he developed his own version of pantheism meant to guard his unique persona from dissolution in the All-One. The poetry of Tiutchev, Vladimir Solov'ev Soloviev and Rossetti, William James's psychology, paintings of Pre-Raphaelites and Arnold Boecklin, Old Russian historical myth, the Finnish Kalevala: all engaged him during his brief life. His worldview grew more audacious, his confidence in the magical power of the word grew more assured. Drowning in 1901 at 23, Konevskoi left a legacy unfinished, rich, and intriguing.
