"In the years between 1929 and 1939, when Itzik Manger wrote most of the poetry and fiction that made him famous, his name among Yiddish readers was a household word. Called the Shelley of Yiddish, he was characterized as being "drunk with talent." This book - the first full-length anthology of Manger's work - displays the range of his genius in poetry, fiction, and criticism.". "The book begins with an extensive historical, biographical, and literary-critical introduction to Manger's work. The selections include excerpts from his novel The Book of Paradise, three short stories, autobiographical essays, critical essays and foremost, Manger's magnificent poetry - ballads, lyrics, and his bold retellings of the Midrash and Songs of the Megillah. These works, which have the patina of myths acquired ages ago also offer modern psychological insight and irrepressible humor. With Manger we make the leap into the Jewish twentieth century, as he re-creates the past in all its layered expressiveness and interprets it with modernist sensibilities."--BOOK JACKET.