Anisfield-Wolf Book Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 12 (1947) Winner
Sholem Asch
ショロム・アッシュ
Sholem Asch
Aliases:
Szalom Asz / Shalom Ash / Shalom Asch
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1880-11-01 （Kutno, Congress Poland, Russian Empire）
- Died
- 1957-07-10 （London, England） age 76
- Nationality
- Poland, United States
- Languages
- Yiddish, Hebrew, Polish, English
- Religion
- Judaism (born into Hasidism)
- Residence History
- Kutno (birthplace) → Włocławek → Warsaw → Bellevue, France → Nice, France → Staten Island, New York, USA → Stamford, Connecticut, USA → Miami Beach, Florida, USA → Bat Yam, Israel → London, England
Career
- Occupations
- novelist, dramatist, essayist, journalist
- Active Years
- 1902-1957
- Affiliations
- American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), Yiddish PEN Club (honorary president), Forverts (The Forward, Yiddish newspaper), Morgen Freiheit (Yiddish communist newspaper)
- Memberships
- American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (founding member), Yiddish PEN Club (honorary president)
- Influenced By
- I. L. Peretz (Isaac Leib Peretz), Thinkers of the Haskalah (Jewish Enlightenment)
- Influenced
- Writers of 20th-century Yiddish literature, Theatre practitioners—controversies around God of Vengeance influenced later plays and criticism, Paula Vogel (whose play Indecent recounts the controversy around his play)
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cheder (religious school) | — | Religious studies / Talmudic study | — | 幼少期 - 青年期 | Poland |
| Liberal education in Włocławek | — | Practical literary and civic skills (worked as letter-writer) | — | 青年期 | Poland |
Cheder (religious school)
Religious studies / Talmudic study
Period:
幼少期 - 青年期
Country:
Poland
Received traditional Jewish education; later self-studied secular literature.
Liberal education in Włocławek
Practical literary and civic skills (worked as letter-writer)
Period:
青年期
Country:
Poland
Influenced by I. L. Peretz and began literary career.
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1932 | Polonia Restituta | — | — | Second Polish Republic | 授与 |
| 1932 | Yiddish PEN Club honorary presidency | — | — | PEN Club (Yiddish) | 選出 |
Polonia Restituta
1932
Organization:
Second Polish Republic
Result:
授与
Yiddish PEN Club honorary presidency
1932
Organization:
PEN Club (Yiddish)
Result:
選出
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
A Shtetl (The Village)
1904 short stories / depiction of shtetl lifeA collection portraying everyday life and values of a Polish-Jewish shtetl.
Jewish traditioncommunal lifefaith vs. secularization
Translations
- Translated into English and multiple European languages
God of Vengeance
1907 play / dramaA controversial play set in a brothel that examines respectability, hypocrisy, and religious symbolism; notable for a lesbian scene and use of Torah imagery.
religion and moralitydignity vs. hypocrisysexual minorities and social condemnation
Adaptations
- [theatre] Indecent (Paula Vogel, 2015/2017) / Rebecca Taichman (2017)
Translations
- English translation 1918 (Isaac Goldberg et al.)
The Nazarene
1939 novel (New Testament subject)First of a trilogy treating New Testament figures, written as an attempt at Jewish–Christian understanding.
dialogue of faithsinterfaith reconciliationreinterpretation of historical figures
The Apostle
1943 novel (New Testament subject)Sequel in the New Testament-themed trilogy exploring Jewish–Christian relations.
religious inquiryforgiveness and missionJewish–Christian historical dialogue
East River: A Novel of New York
1946 novel (Jewish immigrant life in America)A novel about Jewish immigrant experience in New York; spent time on The New York Times bestseller list, including one week at #1.
immigration and assimilationurban lifeidentity
Bibliography
- A Shtetl (1904) and many others
- Got fun Nekome / God of Vengeance (1907)
- The Nazarene (1939)
- The Apostle (1943)
- East River (1946)
- Numerous other stories, plays and essays
Adaptations
- God of Vengeance was staged in Germany in 1907 and provoked controversy during a 1923 Broadway production. The 2015 play Indecent dramatizes that controversy.
Translations of Works
- God of Vengeance — English translation (1918, Isaac Goldberg et al.)
- Kiddush ha-Shem — English translation (1926)
- The Mother — English translation (1930)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- story-driven Yiddish narrative styleblend of allegorical and religious motifsmix of realism and idealism
- Recurring Motifs
- faith and salvationfather-figure archetypescommunity and sacrificeencounters between Jewish and non-Jewish societies
Health
-
nervous breakdown1919頃Suffered a nervous breakdown after witnessing pogrom aftermaths in Lithuania (c.1919), which affected his mental health and work temporarily.
Legacy
Sholem Asch is a major figure of 20th-century Yiddish literature, celebrated for portrayals of shtetl life and explorations of religion and ethics. His New Testament trilogy provoked controversy within the Jewish community. His Bat Yam house became a museum, and much of his library and manuscripts are held at Yale University.
Museums
- Sholem Asch Museum (Bat Yam) Bat Yam, near Tel Aviv, Israel
Academic Societies
- Yiddish literature academic groups
Archives
- Yale University Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library (Sholem Asch Papers)
In Popular Culture
- Paula Vogel's play Indecent (2015/2017) — dramatizes the controversy around God of Vengeance
- Recordings and legacy preserved via Folkways Records founded by his son Moe Asch
Quotes
-
He summed up his father's faith as "love of God and love of neighbor."
Source: Biographical accounts / recollections
Trivia
- God of Vengeance led to an obscenity trial in New York in 1923; convictions were later overturned on appeal.
- East River spent more than six months on The New York Times bestseller list (1946–47), including one week at #1.
- His son Moses "Moe" Asch founded Folkways Records, contributing to preservation and dissemination of recordings.