Old Truths and New Clichés : : Essays by Isaac Bashevis Singer / / Isaac Bashevis Singer; ed. by David Stromberg.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter EBOOK PACKAGE COMPLETE 2022 English
• VerfasserIn: Singer, Isaac Bashevis,
• HerausgeberIn: Stromberg, David,
• Place / Publishing House: Princeton, NJ : : Princeton University Press, , [2022]; ©2022
• Year of Publication: 2022
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (280 p.) :; 3 b/w illus.

From the Nobel Prize–winning writer, a new collection of literary and personal essaysOld Truths and New Clichés collects eighteen essays—most of them previously unpublished in English—by Isaac Bashevis Singer on topics that were central to his artistic vision throughout an astonishing and prolific literary career spanning more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 work—including the literary arts, Yiddish and Jewish life, and mysticism and philosophy—the book illuminates in new ways the rich intellectual, aesthetic, religious, and biographical background of Singer’s 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 The unpublished essays featured here include “Old Truths and New Clichés,” “The Kabbalah and Modern Times,” and “A Trip to the Circus.”Old Truths and New Clichés brims with stunning archival finds that will make a significant impact on how readers understand Singer and his work. Singer’s 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.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Preface -- Writers Don’t Write for the Drawer: An Introduction to the Essays of Isaac Bashevis Singer -- The Literary Arts -- The Satan of Our Time -- Journalism and Literature -- Why Literary Censorship Is Harmful -- Who Needs Literature? -- Old Truths and New Clichés -- Storytelling and Literature -- Literature for Children and Adults -- Yiddish and Jewish LIFE -- The Kabbalah and Modern Times -- The Ten Commandments and Modern Critics -- The Spirit of Judaism -- Yiddish, the Language of Exile -- Yiddish Theater Lives, Despite the Past -- Yiddish and Jewishness -- Personal Writings and Philosophy -- A Trip to the Circus -- Why I Write As I Do: The Philosophy and Definition of a Jewish Writer -- A Personal Concept of Religion -- A Story about a Collection of Stories -- The Making of a First Book -- To the True Protester -- Singer the Editor: An Afterword on the Editorial Process -- Acknowledgments -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index