‘Turn it Over and Over’ (Avot 5:22): American Jewish Women’s Poetry on Lot’s Wife

Although mentioned only twice in Genesis (19:17, 26), Lot’s wife has been a topic of much discussion amongst both traditional and modern commentators and exegetes. However, as opposed to the androcentric traditional midrash, the Jewish American women poets, who write midrashic-poetry, re-read the bi...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Koplowitz-Breier, Anat (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Oxford University Press [2020]
In: Literature and theology
Year: 2020, Volume: 34, Issue: 2, Pages: 206-227
IxTheo Classification:BH Judaism
CD Christianity and Culture
FD Contextual theology
HB Old Testament
Further subjects:B Articles
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
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Description
Summary:Although mentioned only twice in Genesis (19:17, 26), Lot’s wife has been a topic of much discussion amongst both traditional and modern commentators and exegetes. However, as opposed to the androcentric traditional midrash, the Jewish American women poets, who write midrashic-poetry, re-read the biblical story with a feminine/feminist lens, making what Alicia Ostriker calls ‘revisionist mythmaking.’ In this article, I shall focus on seven poems written from the 1980s through to 2014. I shall endeavor to evince the way(s) in which they make use of the biblical text, dealing with themes raised in the traditional midrash or re-reading the latter. I will show how by adducing to her emotions, longings and memories and even fear of the future, the poets portray Lot’s wife first and foremost as a woman.
ISSN:1477-4623
Contains:Enthalten in: Literature and theology
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1093/litthe/fraa004