Is exile a falling away from a source of creativity associated with the wholeness of home and one's own language, or is it a spur to creativity? This book examines the complexities of exile and the diversity of its experiences. It is suitable for those who are interested in the problems of displacement and diaspora and the European Holocaust.

"This is a rich and thought-provoking collection of essays about a subject of almost inexhaustible interest: exile as both a physical state and a state of mind, entailing both loss (of homeland, continuity, tradition) and gain (of new experiences, new ideas, new languages). These aspects of exile, which have made it so often a stimulus to writers and artists, are explored here in a fascinating variety of contexts and perspectives, and the collection as a whole maintains a nice balance between personal witness and objective scholarship."--David Lodge