Singer, I.J.

Singer, I.J.

▪ American author
in full  Israel Joshua Singer , also spelled  Yisroel Yeshue Zinger , Yisroel also spelled  Yisroyel 
born Nov. 30, 1893, Biłgoraj, Pol.
died Feb. 10, 1944, New York, N.Y., U.S.

      Polish-born writer of realistic historical novels in Yiddish.

      Singer's father was a rabbi who was a fervent Ḥasid, and his mother was from a distinguished Mitnagged family. Singer began writing tales of Ḥasidic life in 1915 and then worked as a newspaper correspondent in Warsaw during the 1920s and early '30s, publishing several collections of short stories during this time, including the short story “Perl” (“The Pearl”), which was his first international success. His novel Yoshe Kalb, a description of Ḥasidic life in Galicia, appeared in 1932, and the next year he immigrated to the United States. His subsequent writings appeared in serialized form in the Jewish Daily Forward newspaper in New York City. The novel Di brider Ashkenazi (The Brothers Ashkenazi) was published in 1936 and was followed in 1938 by Ḥaver Naḥman (“Comrade Naḥman”), a scathing indictment of communism, and then in 1943 by Di mishpoḥe Ḳarnovsḳi (The Family Carnovsky).

      Singer was the older brother of the writer Isaac Bashevis Singer (Singer, Isaac Bashevis) and the younger brother of the writer Esther Kreytman (Kreitman). Like his brother, I.J. Singer wrote multigenerational family novels; but, unlike his brother, he firmly linked his vivid characters with a larger historical and socioeconomic setting, to which he devoted considerable attention throughout his books. Singer's masterpiece, The Brothers Ashkenazi, examines the rivalry of two very different brothers whose fortunes parallel that of their birthplace, the Polish industrial city of Łódź. The Family Carnovsky traces an assimilated German-Jewish family for several decades until its members must immigrate to the United States after the Nazi takeover.

      Singer also wrote short stories and plays that were successfully produced by Yiddish theatre groups both in Europe and in the United States.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • SINGER (I. B.) — Peu avant de recevoir le prix Nobel de littérature, au mois d’octobre 1978, Isaac Bashevis Singer déclarait: «Je suis presque le dernier écrivain yiddish...» En couronnant Singer, l’Académie suédoise a voulu non seulement attirer l’attention sur… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Singer — steht für: Singer (Familienname), der Familienname Singer Singer (Unternehmen), das Unternehmen The Singer Company (Singer Nähmaschinen) Singer (Automobilhersteller), ein ehemaliges englisches Automobilbau Unternehmen Singer Wittenberge, einen… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

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  • Singer — (izg. sȉnger) DEFINICIJA 1. Isaac Bashevis (1904 1991), američko židovski književnik, do 1935. živio u Poljskoj; pisao pripovijetke i romane na jidišu o životu Židova u Poljskoj i Americi začinjene dubokom životnom mudrošću, često s primjesom… …   Hrvatski jezični portal

  • Singer — Sin ger (s[i^]n j[ e]r), n. [From {Singe}.] One who, or that which, singes. Specifically: (a) One employed to singe cloth. (b) A machine for singeing cloth. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Singer — Sing er, n. [From {Sing}.] One who sings; especially, one whose profession is to sing. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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  • Singer — Singer, Paul, sozialdemokrat. Politiker, geb. 16. Jan. 1844 in Berlin, gründete 1869 mit seinem Bruder das. eine Damenmäntelfabrik, seit 1884 im Reichstag, mit Bebel Vorsitzender im Vorstand der sozialdemokrat. Partei …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

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