On Monday, February 6, 2023, the IIJS welcomed Josh Lambert, author of The Literary Mafia: Jews, Publishing, and Postwar American Literature for an in-person book talk at Kent Hall.
This book’s inspiration comes from ubiquitous allegations throughout the 1960s and 1970s that publishing was dominated by a “Jewish literary mafia.” Although a conspiracy of Jews colluding to control publishing in the United States never actually existed, such accusations reflected a genuine transformation from an industry notorious for excluding Jews to one in which they arguably had become the most influential figures.
In The Literary Mafia, Josh Lambert examines the dynamics between Jewish editors and Jewish writers; how Jewish women exposed the misogyny they faced from publishers; and how children of literary parents have struggled with and benefited from their inheritances. Drawing on interviews and tens of thousands of pages of letters and manuscripts, The Literary Mafia offers striking new discoveries about celebrated figures such as Lionel Trilling and Gordon Lish, and neglected fiction by writers including Ivan Gold, Ann Birstein, and Trudy Gertler.
Dr. Lambert’s talk focused in particular on the role that Columbia University played in this history, centering on Columbia figures like Lionel Trilling and Ivan Gold. The professors, students, and community members in attendance engaged in dynamic discussions with Dr. Lambert during the Q&A session that followed his presentation.
Josh Lambert is the Sophia Moses Robison Associate Professor of Jewish Studies and English, and director of the Jewish Studies Program, at Wellesley College. His books include Unclean Lips: Obscenity, Jews, and American Culture (2014) and, co-edited with Ilan Stavans, How Yiddish Changed America and How America Changed Yiddish (2020). He's written recently for the New York Times Book Review, Jewish Currents, Literary Hub, and Lilith, and he serves as a judge for the Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature.
This event was made possible by the generosity of the Radov and Kaye families.
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