New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
– December 13, 2013 in
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
) was an American author. Nissenson drew heavily on his
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
background in his writing, exploring themes of mysticism,
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
, and the
Holocaust
The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...
.
Biography
Hugh Nissenson was born in New York on March 10, 1933, the only child of Charles and Harriette Nissenson. Nissenson's father immigrated to the United States from
Warsaw
Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
in 1910, working in a sweatshop sweater factory and later as a salesman. His mother, born Harriette Dolch, was born in Brooklyn to immigrant parents from
Lvov
Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in Western Ukraine, western Ukraine, and the List of cities in Ukraine, seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is o ...
,
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
.
After attending the
Fieldston School
Ethical Culture Fieldston School (ECFS), also referred to as Fieldston, is a private independent school in New York City. The school is a member of the Ivy Preparatory School League. The school serves approximately 1,700 students with 480 facul ...
in
The Bronx, New York
The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New York ...
, Nissenson attended
Swarthmore College
Swarthmore College ( , ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1864, with its first classes held in 1869, Swarthmore is one of the earliest coeduca ...
, graduating with a bachelor's degree in 1955. He worked briefly as a copy boy at the
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
, but was encouraged by his mother to pursue his love of fiction. Nissenson spent time in Israel in the 1950s and 1960s, reporting on the
Commentary magazine
''Commentary'' is a monthly American magazine on religion, Judaism, and politics, as well as social and cultural issues. Founded by the American Jewish Committee in 1945 under Elliot E. Cohen, editor from 1945 to 1959, ''Commentary'' magazine dev ...
, and spending time in kibbutz
Ma'ayan Baruch
Ma'ayan Baruch ( he, מַעְיַן בָּרוּךְ, ''lit.'' Blessed Spring) is a kibbutz in northern Israel. Located near the intersection of the Israeli, Syrian and Lebanese border, it falls under the jurisdiction of Upper Galilee Regional C ...
, which formed the basis for his 1968 ''Notes from the Frontier''.
In 1976, Nissenson published his first novel, ''My Own Ground''.
Nissenson died on December 13, 2013 at his home in Manhattan, New York. He was survived by his wife Marilyn and two daughters Kate and Kore.
Publications
*''A Pile of Stones'' (1965)
*'' Notes from the Frontier'' (1968)
*''In The Reign of Peace'' (1972)
*''My Own Ground'' (1976)
*''The Tree of Life'' (1985)
*''The Elephant and My Jewish Problem'' (1988)
*''The Song of the Earth'' (2001)
*''The Days of Awe'' (2007)
*''The Pilgrim'' (2011)
Awards
Won
* 1965
Edward Lewis Wallant Award In 1962, the Edward Lewis Wallant Award was established at the University of Hartford, in Connecticut, USA by Fran and Irving Waltman. It is presented annually to a writer whose fiction is considered to have significance for American Jews. The award ...
- ''A Pile of Stones''
* 2002
Gaylactic Spectrum Awards
The Gaylactic Spectrum Awards are given to works of science fiction, fantasy and horror that explore LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) topics in a positive way. Established in 1998, the awards were initially presented by the Gaylactic ...
- ''The Song of the Earth''
Nominated
* 1985
National Book Award
The National Book Awards are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors.
The Nat ...
Langum Prizes The David J. Langum Sr. Prizes are American literary awards for historical fiction, biography and legal history. They have been awarded annually since 2001 by the Langum Charitable Trust.
The Langum Prize for American Historical Fiction (or David ...