Elie Wiesel and the Art of Storytelling

Description

Elie Wiesel is a master storyteller with the ability to use storytelling as a form of activism. From his landmark memoir Night to his novels and numerous retellings of Hasidic legends, Wiesel's literature emphasizes storytelling, and he frequently refers to himself as a storyteller rather than an author or historian. In this work, essays examine Wiesel's roots in Jewish storytelling traditions; influences from religious, folk, and secular sources; education; Yiddish background; Holocaust experience; and writing style. Emphasized throughout is Wiesel's use of multiple sources in an effort to re.;Cover; Table of Contents; Preface ; Introduction; Mosaics and Mirrors: Wiesel, American Autobiographies, and the Shaping of a Storied Subject (Zoe Trodd); Creative Ambiguity in Wiesel's Storytelling (Rosemary Horowitz); Elie Wiesel: Telling Stories of Children and Loss (Katherine Lagrandeur); The Storyteller and His Quarrel with God (Alan L. Berger); Wrestling with Oblivion: Wiesel's Autobiographical Storytelling as Midrash (Deborah Lee Ames); The Maggid of Sighet: Jewish Contexts for Wiesel's Storytelling (David Patterson). Cover Table of Contents Preface Introduction Mosaics and Mirrors: Wiesel, American Autobiographies, and the Shaping of a Storied Subject (Zoe Trodd) Creative Ambiguity in Wiesel's Storytelling (Rosemary Horowitz) Elie Wiesel: Telling Stories of Children and Loss (Katherine Lagrandeur) The Storyteller and His Quarrel with God (Alan L. Berger) Wrestling with Oblivion: Wiesel's Autobiographical Storytelling as Midrash (Deborah Lee Ames) The Maggid of Sighet: Jewish Contexts for Wiesel's Storytelling (David Patterson). Laughter and the Limits of Holocaust Storytelling: Wiesel's The Gates of the Forest (Jacqueline Bussie)Transfiguration (Graham B. Walker, Jr.) The Artist as Witness, Prophet, and Encourager (Carole J. Lambert) Shaliach Tzibor: Wiesel as Storyteller of His People (Caren S. Neile) Teaching Beyond the Text: Examining and Acting On the Moral Aspects of Night (Elaine O'Quinn) Afterword: Night-the Memoir-a Promise Fulfilled (Miriam Klein Kassenoff) About the Contributors Index.