26.5.2025
Doctoral thesis on the Yiddish-speaking Anna Margolin’s poetic world
M.A. Beila Engelhardt Titelman’s doctoral thesis in literature will be put forth for public defence at the Faculty of Arts, Psychology and Theology at Åbo Akademi University.
The thesis is entitled Jag är en gyllene bro över staden av stål: Anna Margolins poeatiska värld.
The public defence of the doctoral thesis takes place on 2 May 2025 at 1PM in auditorium Argentum, Aurum, Henrikinkatu 2, Turku. Professor Mattias Pirholt, Uppsala University, Sweden will serve as opponent and Professor Emeritus Claes Ahlund, Åbo Akademi University, as custos.
Summary
The aim of this dissertation is to explore the Yiddish-speaking Anna Margolin’s poetic world. Anna Margolin, a pseudonym of Rosa Lebensboym (1887–1952), was born in Brest, Belarus (then part of the Russian Empire). She lived in New York from 1914, her debut as a poet was in 1920. Her only collection of poetry, Lider, was published 1929. In this study we encounter a woman who wrote in a minority language – Yiddish – and whose poetic voice was forged in a dialogue with European, Anglo-American, and Russian poetry.
Titelman’s analysis is an application of theories and methods of thematic criticism, the so-called Geneva School, which are closely aligned with phenomenology and hermeneutics. Two main themes in Margolin’s work were identified: “the subject’s search for something higher” and “the struggling subject.” The first concerns the search for something metaphysical, or existential and creative insight – the miraculous dimensions of poetic inspiration and flow. The poems do not provide an answer to whether the subject finds the higher power she seeks, nor do they dismiss the possibility of such a presence.
The second main theme, “the struggling subject,” refers to the poet’s oscillation between pride and doubt and sorrow. The subject asserts her worth when faced with a lack of external recognition, whether in love relationships, from the Jewish tradition, or the Yiddish literary establishment. Feelings of anxiety, sorrow, and guilt – often related to memories of mother, a child, or a past lover – recur in several poems, as does the struggle with self-control, dignity, and the need to suppress painful emotions. Writing becomes a means of asserting herself, strengthening her self-regard, and coping with existential anxiety, while also leading to a sense of alienation. However, the subject is not willing to give up her creative work. Margolin’s poetry covers existential pain and alienation as well as the triumph of creativity.
Beila Engelhardt Titelman was born in Berlin, Germany in 1947. She can be reached by email beilae@me.com.
The doctoral thesis can be read online through the Doria publication archive.