Primo Levi and the Identity of a Survivor PDF
Preview Primo Levi and the Identity of a Survivor
PRIMO LEVI AND THE IDENTITY OF A SURVIVOR This page intentionally left blank UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO PRESS Toronto Buffalo London © University of Toronto Press 2016 Toronto Buffalo London www.utppublishing.com Printed in the U.S.A. ISBN 978-1-4875-0102-0 ♾ Printed on acid-free, 100% post-consumer recycled paper with vegetable- based inks. (Toronto Italian Studies) _________________________________________________________________ Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication Harrowitz, Nancy A. (Nancy Anne), 1952–, author Primo Levi and the identity of a survivor / Nancy Harrowitz. (Toronto Italian studies) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-4875-0102-0 (cloth) 1. Levi, Primo–Criticism and interpretation. I. Title. II. Series: Toronto Italian studies PQ4872.E8Z75 2016 853'.914 C2016-904898-5 _________________________________________________________________ A portion of chapter 3 (pp. 67–81) is a revised version of a chapter originally published as “Mon Maître, Mon Monstre” in Monsters in the Italian Literary Imagination, ed. Keala Jewell (Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 2011), pp. 51–62. University of Toronto Press acknowledges the financial assistance to its publishing program of the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council, an agency of the Government of Ontario. Funded by the Financé par le Government gouvernement of Canada du Canada To my mother, Irene Harrowitz, who taught me the meaning of persistence This page intentionally left blank Contents Acknowledgments ix 1 Introduction 3 2 The Complications of Jewish Identity 12 3 Primo Levi’s Writerly Identity: From Science to Storytelling 40 4 Against Autobiography 82 5 Shame’s Identity 108 6 Conclusion: Cautionary Tales: Early Poetry 138 Notes 149 Bibliography 163 Index 171 This page intentionally left blank Acknowledgments There are many in the community of Levi scholars to whom I owe much for animated conversation and intellectual stimulation. First and foremost are the members of an informal Primo Levi scholars group who regularly organized conference panels and lectures together over the past ten or more years: Risa Sodi, whose significant early work on Levi was an inspiration; Penny Marcus, who together with Risa orga- nized an important conference on Levi at Yale and who has written beautifully on Levi; Robert Gordon and Joe Farrell, both major forces in Levi studies; and Jonathan Druker, Stan Pugliese, Sharon Portnoff, and Berel Lang, all of whom have not only written essential works on Levi but organized and participated in those scholarly events that inspired further study of this important author. I’ve had countless thought- provoking conversations over the years with them and owe them a large debt of gratitude for their stimulating work in this field. My department and college at Boston University have also been unstint- ingly supportive of my research. To my other friends, who read chapters and made a real impact on my work, in particular Melissa Zeiger, Beth Goldsmith, Fiora Bassanese, and Keala Jewell: life would have been so much harder without your encour- aging words. And finally, to my husband August Watters, who sup- ported this project and played so much sweet music in the background.
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