Arthur A. Cohen
Encyclopedia
Arthur Allen Cohen was an American Jewish scholar, theologian
and author.
Cohen wrote The Natural and the Supernatural Jew (1962), tracing the history of Jewish theology from the late 15th century, through the German Jewish renaissance
, and into what he saw as a hopeful yet troubled American Jewish
scene. "Whether the Jewish genius for religion will display the tensility, urgency, and creativity to make of American Judaism something more than a boring legacy of conservation remains to be seen." (p. 178)
Cohen edited a popular reader on Jewish thought (Arguments and Doctrines) and wrote several novels, including In the Days of Simon Stern, Acts of Theft, The Carpenter Years and An Admirable Woman. He also collected rare books, founded a press, and served as an editor for several others.
In 1968, he signed the “Writers and Editors War Tax Protest” pledge, vowing to refuse tax payments in protest against the Vietnam War
.
"Arthur A. Cohen was born in 1928 and died in 1986; he wrote five novels, nine works of nonfiction, and edited five books.
"The nature of art and the psyche of an artist were persistent themes in other writings of Cohen's, along with questions of sincerity and authenticity. But his interests and activities were scattered among a number of other, seemingly unrelated, concerns. He was co-founder of the Noonday Press and founder of Meridian Books, and then editor at Holt, Rinehart & Winston, E. P. Dutton and Viking. He was also a theologian, presumably working on his contributions to the encyclopedic Contemporary Jewish Religious Thought (recently published by Charles Scribner's Sons
) at the same time that he was finishing Artists & Enemies. He collected rare books, later became a rare-book dealer, and he created the catalogues of Ex Libris
on the major movements of 20th-century art. In a way he exemplified the Karl Kraus
witticism about being a very famous person, but only a few people knew it. WHAT comes to mind when contemplating Arthur Cohen's career is the passage in the first volume of Mircea Eliade
's autobiography where he bemoans not having an audience for all of his writings. Certainly Eliade had an audience for his works of fiction, as for his studies in religion and for his social, political and cultural criticism; but he found no one else to have exactly the same combination of interests as the ones he was equally passionate about himself. I suspect there is no one audience that shared all of Cohen's interests and, therefore, there is no common opinion remotely suggesting a consensus evaluation of his life and thought. The handsomely designed jacket of Artists & Enemies includes the announcement that this is his first posthumous book. Does that promise more to come? Fiction? Fugitive essays? Are there Journals or Notebooks or Letters in the works? Perhaps we can expect further publications to throw more revealing light on the writings of this complex artist.
In the meanwhile, let it be said that Arthur A. Cohen was a thinker and an artist who made friends and enemies." April 12, 1987
Novels:
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
and author.
Cohen wrote The Natural and the Supernatural Jew (1962), tracing the history of Jewish theology from the late 15th century, through the German Jewish renaissance
Haskalah
Haskalah , the Jewish Enlightenment, was a movement among European Jews in the 18th–19th centuries that advocated adopting enlightenment values, pressing for better integration into European society, and increasing education in secular studies, Hebrew language, and Jewish history...
, and into what he saw as a hopeful yet troubled American Jewish
History of the Jews in the United States
The history of the Jews in the United States , has been part of the American national fabric since colonial times.Until the 1830s the Jewish community of Charleston, South Carolina was the most numerous in North America. With the large scale immigration of Jews from Germany in the 19th century,...
scene. "Whether the Jewish genius for religion will display the tensility, urgency, and creativity to make of American Judaism something more than a boring legacy of conservation remains to be seen." (p. 178)
Cohen edited a popular reader on Jewish thought (Arguments and Doctrines) and wrote several novels, including In the Days of Simon Stern, Acts of Theft, The Carpenter Years and An Admirable Woman. He also collected rare books, founded a press, and served as an editor for several others.
In 1968, he signed the “Writers and Editors War Tax Protest” pledge, vowing to refuse tax payments in protest against the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
.
"Arthur A. Cohen was born in 1928 and died in 1986; he wrote five novels, nine works of nonfiction, and edited five books.
"The nature of art and the psyche of an artist were persistent themes in other writings of Cohen's, along with questions of sincerity and authenticity. But his interests and activities were scattered among a number of other, seemingly unrelated, concerns. He was co-founder of the Noonday Press and founder of Meridian Books, and then editor at Holt, Rinehart & Winston, E. P. Dutton and Viking. He was also a theologian, presumably working on his contributions to the encyclopedic Contemporary Jewish Religious Thought (recently published by Charles Scribner's Sons
Charles Scribner's Sons
Charles Scribner's Sons, or simply Scribner, is an American publisher based in New York City, known for publishing a number of American authors including Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Kurt Vonnegut, Stephen King, Robert A. Heinlein, Thomas Wolfe, George Santayana, John Clellon...
) at the same time that he was finishing Artists & Enemies. He collected rare books, later became a rare-book dealer, and he created the catalogues of Ex Libris
Ex Libris
Ex Libris is a Latin phrase, meaning literally, "from the books". It is often used to indicate ownership of a book, as in "from the books of..." or from the library of...Ex Libris may also refer to:...
on the major movements of 20th-century art. In a way he exemplified the Karl Kraus
Karl Kraus
Karl Kraus was an Austrian writer and journalist, known as a satirist, essayist, aphorist, playwright and poet. He is regarded as one of the foremost German-language satirists of the 20th century, especially for his witty criticism of the press, German culture, and German and Austrian...
witticism about being a very famous person, but only a few people knew it. WHAT comes to mind when contemplating Arthur Cohen's career is the passage in the first volume of Mircea Eliade
Mircea Eliade
Mircea Eliade was a Romanian historian of religion, fiction writer, philosopher, and professor at the University of Chicago. He was a leading interpreter of religious experience, who established paradigms in religious studies that persist to this day...
's autobiography where he bemoans not having an audience for all of his writings. Certainly Eliade had an audience for his works of fiction, as for his studies in religion and for his social, political and cultural criticism; but he found no one else to have exactly the same combination of interests as the ones he was equally passionate about himself. I suspect there is no one audience that shared all of Cohen's interests and, therefore, there is no common opinion remotely suggesting a consensus evaluation of his life and thought. The handsomely designed jacket of Artists & Enemies includes the announcement that this is his first posthumous book. Does that promise more to come? Fiction? Fugitive essays? Are there Journals or Notebooks or Letters in the works? Perhaps we can expect further publications to throw more revealing light on the writings of this complex artist.
In the meanwhile, let it be said that Arthur A. Cohen was a thinker and an artist who made friends and enemies." April 12, 1987
Selected works
- The tremendum: A theological interpretation of the Holocaust
- The Myth of the Judeo-ChristianJudeo-ChristianJudeo-Christian is a term used in the United States since the 1940s to refer to standards of ethics said to be held in common by Judaism and Christianity, for example the Ten Commandments...
Tradition, and Other Dissenting Essays (1969) - Martin BuberMartin BuberMartin Buber was an Austrian-born Jewish philosopher best known for his philosophy of dialogue, a form of religious existentialism centered on the distinction between the I-Thou relationship and the I-It relationship....
: Studies in modern European literature and thought - Edited with Paul Mendes-Flohr, Contemporary Jewish religious thought: original essays on critical concepts, movements, and beliefs.
Novels:
- Acts of Theft
- A Hero in His Time
- In the Days of Simon Stern