Description
Ahasuerus: A Race Tragedy is an epic poem loosely based on the Biblical Book of Esther. Its author, Joseph Pomeroy Widney was an educator, philanthropist, religious leader and doctor who championed the development of Los Angeles in the 19th Century. He was the second president of the University of Southern California and was one of the founders of the Church of the Nazarene. His politics and racial beliefs were controversial, and he was said to be the model for an oil baron in Upton Sinclair''s novel Oil!, which was adapted for the movie There Will Be Blood.
In A Race Tragedy, Widney tells the story of Ahasuerus, the Persian king of the Book of Esther who is widely regarded as Xerxes. Widney''s fictionalized account depicts Ahasuerus as he wanders through the desert encountering some of the characters of the Bible. The style is that of the epic poem, and Widney uses symbolism from nature to tell the tale. One of the poem''s themes is the reconciliation of Gentile and Jew. Widney had a transformative religious experience in the desert and returned forever changed, identifying himself with ancient Semites from which Judaism later sprang. Widney became something of a universalist, presaging in some way the theories of New Thought. However, readers may detect some anti-Semitism lurking within the poem. Despite Widney''s contributions to Southern California culture, he was also known as an advocate of Eugenics and argued for Aryan superiority; His writings are still heavily quoted by white supremacists.
Ahasuerus: A Race Tragedy is not a poem explicitly about Widney''s racial politics. It will interest those who are familiar with Ahasuerus, Biblical studies or those who simply enjoy epic poetry. It is also yet another intriguing window into the mind of a complex American.
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
In A Race Tragedy, Widney tells the story of Ahasuerus, the Persian king of the Book of Esther who is widely regarded as Xerxes. Widney''s fictionalized account depicts Ahasuerus as he wanders through the desert encountering some of the characters of the Bible. The style is that of the epic poem, and Widney uses symbolism from nature to tell the tale. One of the poem''s themes is the reconciliation of Gentile and Jew. Widney had a transformative religious experience in the desert and returned forever changed, identifying himself with ancient Semites from which Judaism later sprang. Widney became something of a universalist, presaging in some way the theories of New Thought. However, readers may detect some anti-Semitism lurking within the poem. Despite Widney''s contributions to Southern California culture, he was also known as an advocate of Eugenics and argued for Aryan superiority; His writings are still heavily quoted by white supremacists.
Ahasuerus: A Race Tragedy is not a poem explicitly about Widney''s racial politics. It will interest those who are familiar with Ahasuerus, Biblical studies or those who simply enjoy epic poetry. It is also yet another intriguing window into the mind of a complex American.
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
Details
Publisher - Forgotten Books
Language - English
Hardback
Contributors
Author
Joseph Pomeroy Widney
Published Date -
ISBN - 9780331384413
Dimensions - 22.9 x 15.2 x 0.3 cm
Page Count - 48
Paperback
Contributors
Author
Joseph Pomeroy Widney
Published Date -
ISBN - 9781330609873
Dimensions - 22.9 x 15.2 x 0.3 cm
Page Count - 50
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