NASHVILLE, Tenn. ñ Vanderbilt University will participate in nationwide celebrations of the 100th birthday of writer Isaac Bashevis Singer with screenings of two films and a lecture by Robert D. King of the University of Texas, a friend of the Nobel Prize-winning author.
The lecture, "Isaac Bashevis Singer: Personal Reminiscences," will take place at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 14, at Vanderbilt’s Ben Schulman Center for Jewish Life, 2421 Vanderbilt Place, near Memorial Gymnasium.
The Singer documentary Isaac in America will be screened at 5 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 11, in Room G-27 of Vanderbilt Divinity School. Enemies: A Love Story, a film adaptation of a Singer novel, will be shown at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 4, also in Room G-27 of Vanderbilt Divinity School.
All three events are free and open to the public. They will be introduced by Nina Warnke, a specialist in Yiddish theatre from the University of Texas and currently a visiting professor in the Program for Jewish Studies and the German department at Vanderbilt.
"Isaac Bashevis Singer is one of my cultural heroes," King said. "He writes about a world that doesn’t exist anymore ñ pre-World War II East European Jewry. It was a very rich culture and particularly interesting in contrast to today’s American culture, which can be so rootless."
King met Singer in 1978 when King arranged a lecture at the University of Texas, where he was dean of the College of Liberal Arts for many years.
"I surprised him with an introduction entirely in Yiddish," King recalls. "We became friends after that, and I visited him periodically in New York City until his death."
King said his lecture will include insights into lesser-known aspects of Singer, including his personal life and views on politics and literary critics.
Singer, who died in 1991, was born on July 24, 1904. He was the major figure in Yiddish writing during his lifetime and won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1978. His work combined religion, morality and social concerns in parables reminiscent of 19th century storytelling traditions. He also wrote about the Holocaust and its aftermath.
Singer’s major works include the novels Enemies: A Love Story and The Penitent and many short stories including "Gimpel, The Fool."
The lecture and film screenings are sponsored by the Program in Jewish Studies and the Divinity School Library at Vanderbilt University and a grant from The Library of America.
Media contact: Jim Patterson, (615) 322-NEWS
Jim.patterson@vanderbilt.edu