King David and Robert Pinsky Word from: Jake

I remember chatting with Robert Pinsky about the aesthetics of the modern Jew. The chat lasted about half a minute. And it was the greatest half a minute of my life. Ok, not really, but I was pumped, as if I stood by the roaring MSG stage - not in the middle of the Museum of Jewish Heritage at Yehuda Amichai's second yorzeit. Although, getting to be U.S. Poet Laureat twice, that could elevate one to the rock star level, no?

Anyway, Schocken in conjunction with NextBook are putting out his book of essays on the King David story this fall. I'm holding a galley in my hands, and it looks fabulous so far.

The timing is really perfect - Shmuel I is my summer project. So far, I've been using Robert Alter's book, which is okay, but not exactly what I was hoping for. It's like Rashi for the post-modernist laymen. Pinsky seems to meditate on the text, think it through in the essay form. Very exciting stuff.

There's one other book with absolutely spectacular (though definitely academic - beware!) readings of bits from Shmuel I/II - Meir Sternberg's Poetics of the Biblical Narrative. I only have zerox of two chapters of it; the book itself is ridiculously expensive. Going to have to let it lay in the warehouses of alibris (what rip off, that place). If anybody is aware of other cool lit books on the David narrative, let me know.