Old Truths and New Clichés: Essays by Isaac Bashevis Singer

Isaac Bashevis Singer

May 2022 · Tantor Media Inc · Narrated by Stephen R. Thorne

About this audiobook

Old Truths and New Cliches collects nineteen essays-most of them previously unpublished in English-by Isaac Bashevis Singer on topics that were central to his artistic vision throughout an astonishing and prolific literary career spanning more than six decades. Expanding on themes reflected in his best-known work, the book illuminates in new ways the rich intellectual, aesthetic, religious, and biographical background of Singer's singular achievement as the first Yiddish-language author to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. Like a modern Montaigne, Singer studied human nature and created a body of work that contributed to a deeper understanding of the human spirit. Much of his philosophical thought was funneled into his stories. Yet these essays, which Singer himself translated into English or oversaw the translation of, present his ideas in a new way, as universal reflections on the role of the artist in modern society. Old Truths and New Cliches brims with stunning archival finds that will make a significant impact on how listeners understand Singer and his work. Singer's critical essays have long been overlooked because he has been thought of almost exclusively as a storyteller. This book offers an important correction to the record by further establishing Singer as a formidable intellectual.

About the author

Isaac Bashevis Singer (1903-1991) was the Nobel Prize-winning author of many novels, short story collections, memoirs, and children's books, including Gimpel the Fool and Other Stories, The Magician of Lublin, and Enemies, A Love Story.

Stephen R. Thorne is a professional actor and a member of the Trinity Repertory Company in Providence, Rhode Island. He has played Hamlet, Henry V, and Tom Joad, among many other roles. Stephen has narrated over fifty audiobooks.

David Stromberg, a writer, translator, and literary scholar, is editor for the Isaac Bashevis Singer Literary Trust. His books include Baddies, Idiot Love and the Elements of Intimacy, and A Short Inquiry into the End of the World.