Isaac Rosenfeld
Encyclopedia
Isaac Rosenfeld was a Jewish-American writer who became a prominent member of the New York literary elite. 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," and many articles for The Nation
, Partisan Review
, and The New Republic
. 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.
, 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
, dropping out to write fiction after about a year. By the late 1940s, he was immersed in the philosophy of Wilhelm Reich
, "the errant Freud disciple turned ideologue of the orgasm". He made many friends among the New York Intellectuals
, and had great influence on their writing. "He swayed his friends," said Saul Bellow
, "with an unknown power." Bellow admired him as having "one of those ready, clear minds that see the relevant thing immediately." His friends regarded him initially, according to Irving Howe
, as the "golden boy" of the New York literary elite, but later remembered him in their memoirs as a man who never fulfilled his potential; as Howe put it, a "Wunderkind grown into tubby sage ... he died of lonely sloth..." He died on July 14, 1956 of a heart attack
in his one-room apartment in Chicago.
Rosenfeld is the inspiration for the literary characters of King Dahfu in Henderson the Rain King
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
by director Sidney Lumet
.
The Nation
The Nation is the oldest continuously published weekly magazine in the United States. The periodical, devoted to politics and culture, is self-described as "the flagship of the left." Founded on July 6, 1865, It is published by The Nation Company, L.P., at 33 Irving Place, New York City.The Nation...
, Partisan Review
Partisan Review
Partisan Review was an American political and literary quarterly published from 1934 to 2003, though it suspended publication between October 1936 and December 1937.-Overview:...
, and The New Republic
The New Republic
The magazine has also published two articles concerning income inequality, largely criticizing conservative economists for their attempts to deny the existence or negative effect increasing income inequality is having on the United States...
. 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 BellowSaul Bellow
Saul Bellow was a Canadian-born Jewish American writer. For his literary contributions, Bellow was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, the Nobel Prize for Literature, and the National Medal of Arts...
, 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
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
, dropping out to write fiction after about a year. By the late 1940s, he was immersed in the philosophy of Wilhelm Reich
Wilhelm Reich
Wilhelm Reich was an Austrian-American psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, known as one of the most radical figures in the history of psychiatry...
, "the errant Freud disciple turned ideologue of the orgasm". He made many friends among the New York Intellectuals
The New York Intellectuals
The New York Intellectuals were a group of Jewish 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...
, and had great influence on their writing. "He swayed his friends," said Saul Bellow
Saul Bellow
Saul Bellow was a Canadian-born Jewish American writer. For his literary contributions, Bellow was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, the Nobel Prize for Literature, and the National Medal of Arts...
, "with an unknown power." Bellow admired him as having "one of those ready, clear minds that see the relevant thing immediately." His friends regarded him initially, according to Irving Howe
Irving Howe
Irving Howe was an American literary and social critic and a prominent figure of the Democratic Socialists of America.-Life and career:...
, as the "golden boy" of the New York literary elite, but later remembered him in their memoirs as a man who never fulfilled his potential; as Howe put it, a "Wunderkind grown into tubby sage ... he died of lonely sloth..." He died on July 14, 1956 of a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
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
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 most enduringly popular works.It is said to be Bellow's own favorite amongst his books....
by Bellow and of Leslie Braverman in To an Early Grave by Wallace Markfield
Wallace Markfield
Wallace Markfield was an American comic novelist best known for his first novel, To An Early Grave , about four men who spend the day driving across Brooklyn to their friend's funeral...
, the latter of which was made into the movie Bye Bye Braverman
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...
by director Sidney Lumet
Sidney Lumet
Sidney Lumet was an American director, producer and screenwriter with over 50 films to his credit. He was nominated for the Academy Award as Best Director for 12 Angry Men , Dog Day Afternoon , Network and The Verdict...
.
Further reading
- Steven Zipperstein (2009), Rosenfeld's Lives: Fame, Oblivion, and the Furies of Writing, Yale University Press, ISBN 9780300126495