Old Truths and New Clichs: Essays by Isaac Bashevis Singer

(Paperback)

Available Formats

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

From the Nobel Prizewinning writer, a new collection of literary and personal essays

Old Truths and New Clichs collects nineteen essaysmost of them previously unpublished in Englishby Isaac Bashevis Singer on topics that were central to his artistic vision throughout an astonishing and prolific literary career spanning more than six decades. Expanding on themes reflected in his best-known workincluding the literary arts, Yiddish and Jewish life, and mysticism and philosophythe book illuminates in new ways the rich intellectual, aesthetic, religious, and biographical background of Singers singular achievement as the first Yiddish-language author to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Like a modern Montaigne, Singer studied human nature and created a body of work that contributed to a deeper understanding of the human spirit. Much of his philosophical thought was funneled into his stories. Yet these essays, which Singer himself translated into English or oversaw the translation of, present his ideas in a new way, as universal reflections on the role of the artist in modern society. The unpublished essays featured here include Old Truths and New Clichs, The Kabbalah and Modern Times, and A Trip to the Circus.

Old Truths and New Clichs brims with stunning archival finds that will make a significant impact on how readers understand Singer and his work. Singers critical essays have long been overlooked because he has been thought of almost exclusively as a storyteller. This book offers an important correction to the record by further establishing Singer as a formidable intellectual.

Reviews

"By affording us a glimpse of Singers worldview in all its beguiling ambiguities, Old Truths and New Clichs helps us see his noble achievement more clearly: to combine what he called a 'spiritual stenography' of higher powers with a record of our wrestling with lower passions."---Benjamin Balint, Wall Street Journal
"[A] touching collection. . . . The authors fans will be delighted by this intimate anthology." * Publishers Weekly *
"Old Truths and New Clichs, a new collection of Singers essays compiled by the writer, scholar, and translator David Stromberg . . . lays bare Singers motivating ideas for all to see. Strombergs work here really is heroic. . . . The great accomplishment of this collection is to . . . reveal [Singer] as a true intellectual with a coherent artistic vision."---Dara Horn, Jewish Review of Books
"[Singer] is revealed in these writings . . . as an author of consummate curiosity, humanity and erudition."---Matt dAncona, Tortoise
"[Singers] unique perspective spans an impressive range of issues. . . . Singers writing is enjoyable."---Terry Freedman, TeachWire

Author Bio

Isaac Bashevis Singer (19031991) was the Nobel Prizewinning author of many novels, short story collections, memoirs, and childrens books, including Gimpel the Fool and Other Stories, The Magician of Lublin, and Enemies, A Love Story. David Stromberg, a writer, translator, and literary scholar, is editor for the Isaac Bashevis Singer Literary Trust. His books include Baddies, Idiot Love and the Elements of Intimacy, and A Short Inquiry into the End of the World.