In his published stories and novels Cohen employs a precise power of observation and a virtuoso style of writing, which ranges from abstract through playful to radical language. He also creates multiple layers of meaning through visual representation such as capital letters and blank spaces.
Religion, expulsion, life in exile and Shoah memory are recurring topics in his work. For instance, his 800 pages thick novel “Witz” depicts the story of the single survivor of a deadly disease spreading among the Jewish population in the United States and the story of the last living Holocaust survivor. Joshua Cohen is often compared by critics to his rhetorically brilliant colleagues David Foster Wallace and Thomas Pynchon. He won the Pushcart Prize 2012 and the Matanel Award for Young Promising Jewish Writers 2013. His novel “Witz” was on the shortlist for the “Best Books of 2010” by the weekly magazine The Village Voice and his story collection “Four New Messages” was listed on the Shortlist “Best Books of 2012” by The New Yorker.
In 2017 he was named one of Granta’s Best of Young American Novelists and his novel "Book of numbers was named a Best Book of the Year by the Wall Street Journal, National Public Radio and New York Magazine. His work is published by Random House London. As 38th Samuel Fischer Guest Professor Joshua Cohen will provide a seminar with the title “versions”. The seminar will ask what leads a writer to decide on one version among many possible variations. The course is aimed at both writers and those with a general interest in writing. It won’t focus on literary history but rather concentrate on literary technique.
... with Livestream
© Phil Dera
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