Isaac Rosenfeld (March 10, 1918 - July 14, 1956
[ This article also has details about Rosenfeld's upbringing, parents, siblings, wife and children.][) was an ]American writer
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry
...
who became a prominent member of New York intellectual circles. Rosenfeld wrote one novel (''Passage from Home'', 1946), which, according to literary critic Marck Shechner, "helped fashion a uniquely American voice by marrying the incisiveness of Mark Twain to the Russian melancholy of Dostoevsky,"['']Haaretz
''Haaretz'' ( , originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , ) is an Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel, and is now published in both Hebrew and English in the Berliner f ...
'', 17 May 2009
Biography forgotten genius / The hunger artist
/ref> and many articles for ''The Nation
''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper tha ...
'', ''Partisan Review
''Partisan Review'' (''PR'') was a small-circulation quarterly "little magazine" dealing with literature, politics, and cultural commentary published in New York City. The magazine was launched in 1934 by the Communist Party USA–affiliated John ...
'', and ''The New Republic
''The New Republic'' is an American magazine of commentary on politics, contemporary culture, and the arts. Founded in 1914 by several leaders of the progressive movement, it attempted to find a balance between "a liberalism centered in hum ...
''. Some of those articles were posthumously published in a volume titled ''An Age of Enormity'', and his short stories were later published as ''Alpha and Omega''.
Background
Many of Rosenfeld's short stories revolve around family, and were to some extent inspired by his own Chicago family: his bombastic father, his mother Miriam who died young, his sister, his unmarried aunts. He and his wife Vasiliki had two children, George and Eleni, the latter of which later became a Buddhist nun. He grew up a few blocks from Saul Bellow
Saul Bellow (born Solomon Bellows; 10 July 1915 – 5 April 2005) was a Canadian-born American writer. For his literary work, Bellow was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, the Nobel Prize for Literature, and the National Medal of Arts. He is the only wr ...
,[ and had known him since he was a teenager, when they worked on the same high school newspaper.
He moved in 1941 from Chicago to New York to study philosophy at ]New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, the ...
, dropping out to write fiction after about a year.[ By the late 1940s, he was immersed in the philosophy of ]Wilhelm Reich
Wilhelm Reich ( , ; 24 March 1897 – 3 November 1957) was an Austrian Doctor of Medicine, doctor of medicine and a psychoanalysis, psychoanalyst, along with being a member of the second generation of analysts after Sigmund Freud. The author ...
, "the errant Freud disciple turned ideologue of the orgasm".[ He made many friends among ]the New York Intellectuals
The New York Intellectuals were a group of American writers and literary critics based in New York City in the mid-20th century. They advocated left-wing politics but were also firmly anti-Stalinist. The group is known for having sought to integra ...
, and had great influence on their writing. "He swayed his friends," said Saul Bellow
Saul Bellow (born Solomon Bellows; 10 July 1915 – 5 April 2005) was a Canadian-born American writer. For his literary work, Bellow was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, the Nobel Prize for Literature, and the National Medal of Arts. He is the only wr ...
, "with an unknown power." Bellow admired him as having "one of those ready, clear minds that see the relevant thing immediately."Irving Howe
Irving Howe (; June 11, 1920 – May 5, 1993) was an American literary and social critic and a prominent figure of the Democratic Socialists of America.
Early years
Howe was born as Irving Horenstein in The Bronx, New York. He was the son o ...
, as the "golden boy" of the New York literary elite,[ He died on July 14, 1956 of a ]heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...
in his one-room apartment in Chicago.[
Rosenfeld is the inspiration for the literary characters of King Dahfu in '']Henderson the Rain King
''Henderson the Rain King'' is a 1959 novel by Saul Bellow. The book's blend of philosophical discourse and comic adventure has helped make it one of his more popular works.
The novel is said to be Bellow's favorite among his books. It was ranke ...
'' by Bellow and of Leslie Braverman in ''To an Early Grave'' by Wallace Markfield, the latter of which was made into the movie ''Bye Bye Braverman
''Bye Bye Braverman'' is a 1968 American comedy film directed by Sidney Lumet. The screenplay by Herbert Sargent was adapted from the 1964 novel ''To an Early Grave'' by Wallace Markfield.
Plot
When minor writer Leslie Braverman dies suddenl ...
'' by director Sidney Lumet
Sidney Arthur Lumet ( ; June 25, 1924 – April 9, 2011) was an American film director. He was nominated five times for the Academy Award: four for Best Director for ''12 Angry Men'' (1957), ''Dog Day Afternoon'' (1975), ''Network'' (1976), ...
.
Bibliography
* ''Passage from Home'' (1946)
* ''An Age of Enormity'' (MacGibbon-Kee, London, 1962)
* ''Alpha and Omega'' (World Publishing Co. Cleveland, 1966)
Further reading
*
References
External links
Isaac RosenfeldGuide to the Isaac Rosenfeld Papers 1926-1983
at th
University of Chicago Special Collections Reearch Center
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rosenfeld, Isaac
1918 births
1956 deaths
20th-century American novelists
American male novelists
Writers from Chicago
Jewish American novelists
American male short story writers
20th-century American short story writers
20th-century American male writers
Novelists from Illinois
20th-century American Jews