Literary Jerusalem
What is Jerusalem? We know of it’s religious and historical prominence, as well as it's status as the epicenter of political conflict. We’ve read biblical and historical accounts galore, including Armstrong, Goldhill, Magidor, and Martini. Through these readings, we’ve seen people’s deep and unflinching attachment to Jerusalem create beautiful and moving stories. So, why hasn’t the Western world validated Jerusalem’s literary merit? Harold Bloom theorized the Western canon was formed to create shared beliefs, ideas, and morals to perpetuate equal grounds for education and culture through a collection of books that have recognized literary authority. However, the canon has mostly focused on old, white men for centuries and only recently inducted female, black, Latinx, Asian, and Russian writers. Although the scope of the canon is expanding, it is still incredibly narrow and discriminatory. It is in the best interest of not only the canon but also humanity to
