Isaac Bashevis Singer brought the vibrant milieu of pre-Holocaust Polish Jewry to the English-speaking world through his subtle psychological insight, deep sympathy for the eccentricities of Jewish folk custom, and unerring feel for the heroism of everyday life. His novels, including The Family Moskat and Enemies: A Love Story, and his short stories, such as "Yentl" and "Gimpel the Fool," prove him a consummate storyteller and probably the greatest Yiddish writer of the twentieth century.

Collections of interviews with notable modern writers

A quarter of a century after Isaac Bashevis Singer was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature it is time to take stock of his achievement. Penetrating studies of his fictional and autobiographical works by leading scholars in the field reveal that for all the acclaim he has received on the basis of the English versions of his works, no adequate evaluation of Bashevis's significance can be made without careful examination of the original Yiddish texts. Critical readings assess inter alia his themes and motifs, the impact of Kabbalah on his work, reflections of society in his original Polish homeland as well as his place within the context of contemporary Jewish American letters and the canon of modern Yiddish and Hebrew writing.

Nobel Prize-winning author Isaac Bashevis Singer stands virtually alone among prominent writers for being more widely known through translations of his work than through the original texts. Yet readers and critics of the Yiddish originals have long pointed out that the English versions are generally shortened, often shorn of much description and religious matter, and their perspectives and denouements are significantly altered. In short, they turn the Yiddish author into a Jewish-American English writer, detached from of his Eastern European Jewish literary and cultural roots. By contrast, this collection of essays by leading Yiddish scholars seeks to recover the authentic voice and vision of the writer known to his Yiddish readers as Yitskhok Bashevis. The essays are grouped around four themes: The Yiddish language and the Yiddish cultural experience in Bashevis's writings Thematic approaches to the study of Bashevis's literature Bashevis's interface with other times and cultures Interpretations of Bashevis's autobiographical writings A special feature of this volume is the inclusion of Joseph Sherman's new, faithful translation of a chapter from Bashevis's Yiddish "underworld" novel Yarme and Keyle.

A Study Guide for Isaac Bashevis Singer's "Spinoza of Market Street," excerpted from Gale's acclaimed Short Stories for Students. This concise study guide includes plot summary; character analysis; author biography; study questions; historical context; suggestions for further reading; and much more. For any literature project, trust Short Stories for Students for all of your research needs.

A Study Guide for Isaac Bashevis Singer's "The Son from America," excerpted from Gale's acclaimed Short Stories for Students. This concise study guide includes plot summary; character analysis; author biography; study questions; historical context; suggestions for further reading; and much more. For any literature project, trust Short Stories for Students for all of your research needs.

A Study Guide to Isaac Bashevis Singer's Gimpel the Fool, excerpted from Gale's acclaimed Short Stories for Students series. This concise study guide includes plot summary; character analysis; author biography; study questions; historical context; suggestions for further reading; and much more. For any literature project, trust Short Stories for Students for all of your research needs.