CROSS AND OTHER JEWISH STORIES

Lamed Shapiro (1878-1948) was the author of groundbreaking andcontroversial short stories, novellas, and essays. Himself a tragicfigure, Shapiro led a life marked by frequent ocean crossings, alcoholism,and failed ventures, yet his writings are models of precision,psychological insight, and daring. Shapiro focuses intently on the natureof violence: the mob violence of pogroms committed against Jews; thetraumatic aftereffects of rape, murder, and powerlessness; the murderousevent that transforms the innocent child into witness and the rabbi's soninto agitator. Within a society on the move, Shapiro's refugees from theshtetl and the traditional way of life are in desperate search of food,shelter, love, and things of beauty. Remarkably, and against all odds,they sometimes find what they are looking for. More often than not, theclimax of their lives is an experience of ineffable terror. Thiscollection also reveals Lamed Shapiro as an American master. His writingsdepict the Old World struggling with the New, extremes of human behaviorcombined with the pursuit of normal happiness. Through the perceptions ofa remarkable gallery of men, women, children—of even animals andplants—Shapiro successfully reclaimed the lost world of the shtetlas he negotiated East Broadway and the Bronx, Union Square, andvaudeville. Both in his life and in his unforgettable writings, LamedShapiro personifies the struggle of a modern Jewish artist in search of analways elusive home.