An IASH Work-in-Progress seminar, delivered by Professor Holli Levitsky (Visiting Research Fellow, 2025)
Reigniting Spark: Jewish Values in the Modernism of Muriel Spark
This project illuminates the intricate connections between Scottish author Muriel Spark's Jewish identity and her modernist writing. By systematically analyzing her works, particularly The Comforters, The Mandelbaum Gate and other texts, as well as a massive archive of letters between Spark and her son and other relevant figures in her life, I hope to uncover how Spark navigates her Jewish identity amidst the broader themes of modernity, nationalism, and personal identity. By placing Spark's Jewish heritage and adult conversion to Catholicism at the center of the analysis, this project challenges the prevailing notion that her Jewishness is peripheral to her literary contributions. This reexamination not only enriches the discourse on Spark’s work but also contributes to a deeper understanding of how Jewish identity has influenced literary narratives within modernist literature.
Please join in-person in the Seminar Room, or click the link below to join the webinar:
https://ed-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/81113670095
Passcode: 38bakW8E