Mary Antin (1881–1949)
Author of The Promised Land
Works by Mary Antin
From Plotzk to Boston: A Young Girl's Journey from Russia to the Promised Land (1970) 30 copies, 3 reviews
Why I Am a Pagan 1 copy
Associated Works
The Jewish caravan : great stories of twenty-five centuries (1965) — Contributor, some editions — 139 copies
Writing Women's Lives: An Anthology of Autobiographical Narratives by Twentieth-Century American Women Writers (1994) — Contributor — 128 copies, 3 reviews
The Heath Anthology of American Literature, Concise Edition (2003) — Contributor — 72 copies, 1 review
The Ethnic Image in Modern American Literature, 1900-1950, Volumes 1-2 (1984) — Contributor — 1 copy
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Other names
- Antin, Maryashe (birth)
- Birthdate
- 1881-06-13
- Date of death
- 1949-05-15
- Gender
- female
- Education
- Teachers College of Columbia University
Barnard College
Boston Latin School - Occupations
- activist (immigration rights)
autobiographer
public lecturer
poet - Relationships
- Grabau, Amadeus W. (husband)
- Short biography
- Maryashe Antin was born to a Jewish family in Polotsk (then Russia). She studied with private tutors before the whole family emigrated to the USA in 1894, settling in Boston. There her name was shortened to Mary. Helped by her teachers, Mary Antin completed grammar school in four years. She began to fulfill her literary ambitions by publishing some poems in Boston newspapers, which made her a local celebrity and a symbol of immigrant achievement. She also published From Plotzk to Boston (1899), a collection of her letters, which earned enough to pay for her education at Girls’ Latin School (now Boston Latin Academy). In 1901, she married Amadeus William Grabau, a geologist, with whom she had a son, and moved to New York City. Mary attended Barnard College and Teachers College of Columbia University. At age 30, she wrote a bestselling autobiography, The Promised Land (1912) and went on a national lecturer tour. After the USA entered World War I, she lectured in support of the Allied cause, but her husband voiced his pro-German sympathies, causing a serious rift in their marriage. Mary Antin became ill and retired from public life. By 1919, the couple had separated, and the following year, Grabau left the USA for China. Mary Antin returned to Massachusetts, where she worked part-time as a social worker.
- Nationality
- USA
- Places of residence
- Polotsk, Belarus
Boston, Massachusetts, USA
New York, New York, USA - Place of death
- Suffern, New York, USA
- Associated Place (for map)
- USA
Members
Reviews
I've decided to try “The Promised Land” by Mary Antin, with expectation of a crushing depression setting in:
“Could it be that the country's vices are now (finally) harmful to society?”
I'd say that the countries vices were always harmful to the country, with the need to endlessly consume, renew, rebuild, scrap and start over. But only now that "general prosperity supports the stability of all governments" is NO longer the case for the vast majority of people in the USA, regardless of show more race, the wounds inflicted by the vices have started to fester. The adherence to a mythology of the self-made man can be soul-crushing to those 99.9% that can't pull themselves up by their bootstraps. Carnegie is still seen as a goal, as opposed to a mass murderer. And the new generation of Trumps and Hiltons and Kardashians have bled their insanity into the American fabric, without any acceptance of the simple fact that those fuckers all emerged from wombs with deep pockets.
The “end” of America was written on the wall a real long time, simply because I do not know of almost anyone of America’s generation of today who can honestly say that they are in a better place economically, health-wise or spiritually than their parents. So, contrary to the nightly suckfests to show the NASDAQ index and Standard and Poor ratings, I know very few Americans who have more than their nostrils above water, so they almost all have started to question what kind of life democracy can promise.
I actually think that the process going on in the USA is essentially that which happened 100-150 years ago in Europe, when the natural resources started petering out, and the hope is that the States turn in the same way that Europe did: towards greater social justice and safety nets. Hopefully, without the necessity of 2 World Wars in the meantime. show less
“Could it be that the country's vices are now (finally) harmful to society?”
I'd say that the countries vices were always harmful to the country, with the need to endlessly consume, renew, rebuild, scrap and start over. But only now that "general prosperity supports the stability of all governments" is NO longer the case for the vast majority of people in the USA, regardless of show more race, the wounds inflicted by the vices have started to fester. The adherence to a mythology of the self-made man can be soul-crushing to those 99.9% that can't pull themselves up by their bootstraps. Carnegie is still seen as a goal, as opposed to a mass murderer. And the new generation of Trumps and Hiltons and Kardashians have bled their insanity into the American fabric, without any acceptance of the simple fact that those fuckers all emerged from wombs with deep pockets.
The “end” of America was written on the wall a real long time, simply because I do not know of almost anyone of America’s generation of today who can honestly say that they are in a better place economically, health-wise or spiritually than their parents. So, contrary to the nightly suckfests to show the NASDAQ index and Standard and Poor ratings, I know very few Americans who have more than their nostrils above water, so they almost all have started to question what kind of life democracy can promise.
I actually think that the process going on in the USA is essentially that which happened 100-150 years ago in Europe, when the natural resources started petering out, and the hope is that the States turn in the same way that Europe did: towards greater social justice and safety nets. Hopefully, without the necessity of 2 World Wars in the meantime. show less
A very interesting read on immigration through the eyes of a young girl. The author’s maturity in writing was quite remarkable and engaging. Although Mary and her family were not refugees, many of their experiences mirror those of modern day asylum seekers. For this reason, this little autobiography from the early 1900’s continues to be as relevant today as it was at the time of writing.
We get it, you were precocious and lucky. And grew up to be earnest.
Mary Antin's memoir about early childhood in a Russian Jewish community, emigrating to Boston (?) with her family, and the process by which American patriotism replaced Judaism as the definitive faith of her character and life. There's an overall tone of nerdy arrogance to the writing, reminiscent of Annie Dillard's and Agatha Christie's writings about childhood, though sadly minus most of the wry humor. But here and there show more are some beautiful passages evocative of landscape and the individual's smallness relative to the vastness of cultural and national identity. show less
Mary Antin's memoir about early childhood in a Russian Jewish community, emigrating to Boston (?) with her family, and the process by which American patriotism replaced Judaism as the definitive faith of her character and life. There's an overall tone of nerdy arrogance to the writing, reminiscent of Annie Dillard's and Agatha Christie's writings about childhood, though sadly minus most of the wry humor. But here and there show more are some beautiful passages evocative of landscape and the individual's smallness relative to the vastness of cultural and national identity. show less
This is a wonderful and complicated story of Antin's childhood as she lives first in Russia and then in America. It is a picture of immigration, the search for what is the American dream however it is told, a great appreciation of learning, and a story of all the things that in the end matter more than either wealth of position. Antin's prose is graceful and literary, as well as entertaining throughout. It may start slowly, but this book is worth reading as both historical testimony and show more document as well as personal narrative and autobiography. show less
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Statistics
- Works
- 8
- Also by
- 8
- Members
- 339
- Popularity
- #70,284
- Rating
- 3.6
- Reviews
- 8
- ISBNs
- 47
