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1978 Nobel Prize in Literature

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Award Award
1978 Nobel Prize in Literature
Isaac Bashevis Singer
"for his impassioned narrative art which, with roots in a Polish-Jewish cultural tradition, brings universal human conditions to life"
Date
  • 5 October 1978 (1978-10-05) (announcement)
  • 10 December 1978
    (ceremony)
LocationStockholm, Sweden
Presented bySwedish Academy
First awarded1901
WebsiteOfficial website
← 1977 · Nobel Prize in Literature · 1979 →

The 1978 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to the Polish-born American Jewish writer Isaac Bashevis Singer (1902–1991) "for his impassioned narrative art which, with roots in a Polish-Jewish cultural tradition, brings universal human conditions to life." He wrote prolifically in Yiddish and later translated his own works into English with the help of editors and collaborators.

Laureate

Main article: Isaac Bashevis Singer

Isaac Bashevis Singer's Jewish upbringing and experience in the holocaust plays a significant role in his rich body of work that includes about 20 novels and several books for children. His literary debut started with first published story "Oyf der elter" ("In Old Age", 1925) which won the literary competition of the Literarishe Bletter, where he worked as a proofreader. His tales frequently span several generations, and many of them discuss how assimilation, secularism, and modernism have an impact on the family as in The Family Moskat (1950), The Manor (1967) and The Estate (1969). Jewish folklore and legends are frequently featured in his stories such as Zlateh the Goat and Other Stories (1966) and The Golem (1969). Several of the Singers' works have been adapted for film. Among his famous works also include Satan in Goray (1933), The Magician of Lublin (1971), and Enemies, A Love Story (1966)

Reactions

The choice of Isaac Bashevis Singer was well received. The New York Times' Christopher Lehmann-Haupt wrote: "if influence and appeal are standards of Nobel excellence, then Singer is a worthy choice. For he has carried on the tradition of such Yiddish story-telling masters as Mendele, Aleichem, Peretz and Asch, and he has influenced a generation of America-Jewish writers now thriving in his wake."

Nobel lecture

Delivered on 8 December 1978 at the Swedish Academy, Singer devoted much of his Nobel lecture to speaking about the yiddish language. “In a figurative way,” he said, “Yiddish is the wise and humble language of us all, the idiom of frightened and hopeful humanity.”

References

  1. The Nobel Prize in Literature 1978 nobelprize.org
  2. ^ Isaac Bashevis Singer britannica.com
  3. "Isaac Singer wins Nobel Prize in Literature". history.com. 13 November 2009. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
  4. ^ Christopher Lehmann-Haupt (6 November 1978). "Nobel Prize to I.B. Singer". New York Times. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
  5. Isaac Bashevis Singer – Facts nobelprize.org
  6. Vincour, John (9 December 1978). "Singer, in His Nobel Lecture, Hails Yiddish". New York Times.

External links

Laureates of the Nobel Prize in Literature
1901–1920
1921–1940
1941–1960
1961–1980
1981–2000
2001–2020
2021–present
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