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Dan Jacobson

ダン・ジェイコブソン

Dan Jeikobuson

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1929-03-07 （Johannesburg, South Africa）
Died
2014-06-12 （Lyndhurst Gardens, Hampstead, London, England, United Kingdom） age 85
Nationality
South African
Languages
English
Religion
Judaism
Residence History
Johannesburg, South Africa → Kimberley, South Africa → London, United Kingdom

Career

Occupations
novelist, short story writer, critic, essayist, academic, translator
Active Years
1955-2014
Affiliations
University College London (lecturer, reader, professor), Royal Society of Literature (Fellow), Arts Council of Great Britain (vice chair, Literature Panel)
Memberships
Royal Society of Literature (Fellow)
Influenced By
Jewish tradition and the Old Testament, South African society and racial issues
Influenced
W. G. Sebald

Education

University of the Witwatersrand
Faculty of Arts / English Literature
Degree: Bachelor of Arts
Period: 1945–1948
Year of Graduation: 1948
Country: South Africa
Graduated top of his class in English Literature.
Stanford University (creative writing fellowship)
Period: 1956–1957
Country: United States
Held a year-long creative writing fellowship; worked on his third novel.

Awards

John Llewellyn Rhys Prize
1959
Work: A Long Way from London and Other Stories
Organization: John Llewellyn Rhys Prize
Result: winner
Somerset Maugham Award
1964
Work: Time of Arrival and Other Essays
Organization: Somerset Maugham Award
Result: winner
The Jewish Chronicle Award
1977
Work: The Confessions of Josef Baisz
Organization: The Jewish Chronicle
Result: winner
J. R. Ackerley Prize for Autobiography
1986
Work: Time and Time Again
Organization: J. R. Ackerley Prize
Result: winner
Honorary D.Litt.
Organization: University of the Witwatersrand
Result: honorary degree
Elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature
2007
Organization: Royal Society of Literature
Result: fellowship
Man Booker Prize longlist
2005
Work: All for Love
Organization: Man Booker Prize
Result: longlisted

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Trap

1955 Novel (South African-themed)

An early novel drawing on childhood experiences, portraying divisions in South African society and individual conflicts.

racismsocial divisioncoming of age

A Dance in the Sun

1956 Novel

A novel set in South Africa focusing on social themes and interpersonal relationships.

class consciousnesshuman relationships
Adaptations
  • [Play] Day of the Lion (stage adaptation) (1968)

The Beginners

1966 Novel (family saga)

A longer novel following the lives of a Jewish family after emigration to South Africa; acclaimed for its depth.

migrationfamilyidentity

Time and Time Again

1985 Essays / Autobiography

A collection of 13 autobiographical essays, each recounting events that shaped his view of humanity.

memoryself-reflectionmorality

Heshel's Kingdom

1998 Memoir / Travel (non-fiction)

A moving account of travels to Lithuania in search of his grandfather's world, confronting the destruction of the Jewish community in 1941.

memoryHolocaustfamily history

All for Love

2005 Novel

One of his later novels exploring love, betrayal and human nature; longlisted for the 2005 Man Booker Prize.

lovebetrayalmorality

The Rape of Tamar

1970 Novel (re-telling of a biblical episode)

A retelling of the biblical story of Tamar, dealing with ethics, violence and power; adapted as the play 'Yonadeb'.

Biblepower and violenceethics
Adaptations
  • [Play] Yonadeb (stage adaptation) (1985)

Bibliography

  • The Trap (1955)
  • A Dance in the Sun (1956)
  • The Price of Diamonds (1958)
  • The Zulu and the Zeide (1959)
  • The Evidence of Love (1960)
  • No Further West (1961)
  • Time of Arrival (1963)
  • Beggar My Neighbor (1964)
  • The Beginners (1966)
  • Through the Wilderness and Other Stories (1968)
  • The Rape of Tamar (1970)
  • The Boss (1971)
  • Inklings (1973)
  • The Wonder-Worker (1973)
  • The Confessions of Josef Baisz (1979)
  • The Story of the Stories: The Chosen People and Its God (1982)
  • Time and Time Again (1985)
  • Her Story (1987)
  • Adult Pleasures: Essays on Writers and Readers (1989)
  • Hidden in the Heart (1991)
  • The God-Fearer (1992)
  • The Electronic Elephant (1994)
  • Heshel's Kingdom (1998)
  • A Mouthful of Glass (2000) – translated/edited
  • All for Love (2005)
  • Literary Genius: 25 Classic Writers Who Define English & American Literature (2007)

Adaptations

  • The Zulu and the Zeide was adapted into a musical and produced on Broadway in 1965
  • The Rape of Tamar was adapted as 'Yonadeb' and produced on stage in 1985

Translations by Author

  • A Mouthful of Glass (edited and translated from Dutch Een mond vol Glas by Henk van Woerden)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
concise, ethically-focused prosereflective, observational essayistic narration
Recurring Motifs
memory and recollectiongroup mentality and exclusionJewish identity and biblical motifsconflict between power and morality

Legacy

Dan Jacobson, of South African origin, was acclaimed for works addressing race, ethics and memory. His autobiographical essays and non-fiction were highly regarded, and he left a broad legacy including recognition within the British literary establishment.

Museums

  • Harry Ransom Center (Dan Jacobson collection) Austin, Texas, United States
  • Oxford University (archives) Oxford, United Kingdom
  • Witwatersrand University Library (archives) Johannesburg, South Africa
  • National English Literary Museum Grahamstown, South Africa
  • Africana Library (Kimberley) Kimberley, South Africa

Academic Societies

  • Royal Society of Literature

Archives

  • Harry Ransom Center (Austin, Texas)
  • Oxford University archives
  • Witwatersrand University Library
  • National English Literary Museum (South Africa)
  • Africana Library (Kimberley)

In Popular Culture

  • Dan Jacobson's Heshel's Kingdom is mentioned in W. G. Sebald's Austerlitz and has been cited within other literary works.

Quotes

  • “It is always going to be difficult to get socially and racially diverse people to live harmoniously together within a single polity.”
    Source: Essay 'My Jewish Childhood' (2000) (2000)

Trivia

  • His early short story 'The Box' was published in Commentary and marked his literary breakthrough.
  • His grandfather Heshel Melamed inspired the memoir Heshel's Kingdom.
  • The Zulu and the Zeide was adapted into a musical and produced on Broadway in 1965.
  • All for Love was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize in 2005.
  • Elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2007.