Thursday, November 15, 2012

Isaac Bashevis Singer


Isaac Bashevis Singer
For a change of pace, I’d like to celebrate a writer, generally fascinating chap & certifiable mensch during the month of what would be his 110th birthday.
Isaac Bashevis Singer once wrote, “When I was a little boy, they called me a liar, but now that I am grown up, they call me a writer.”
He wrote countless short stories & any number of novels, some arguably memoir. Many of his stories featured holocaust survivors &/or the struggles & joys of the lives of Jews & searchers. Miraculously, Singer spent all those years pondering sadness, disappointment, torture, inequity & cruelty, yet managed to hold onto hope. He won the 1978 Nobel Prize in Literature, two National Book Awards, countless other awards, & the love of many readers.
A smattering of Singer wit & wisdom follows:
“If you keep on saying things are going to be bad, you have a good chance of being a prophet.”
“The waste basket is the writer's best friend.”
“There will be no justice as long as man will stand with a knife or with a gun and destroy those who are weaker than he is.”
“For those who are willing to make an effort, great miracles and wonderful treasures are in store.”
“Kindness, I've discovered, is everything in life.”
On that last note, followers, please chime in with one kind thing someone has done for you lately.

My thanks go out to this week’s sources, The Library of America & Goodreads

6 comments:

  1. My writer friends and my church friends together saved my life when I recently was hospitalized with life-threatening emboli in my lungs, by letting me know they cared about me and were there to help in any way they could. I'm not sure I would have had the strength to survive and get well without their love and support.

    Always remember: we are all one. Whatever you do to someone else, you do to yourself, too. Send out love and it comes back a hundredfold. Singer was a wise man and is well worth exploring.

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    1. So glad to see you're feeling better, Susan. What an ordeal you've been through!

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  2. Love those quotes. Especially the one about kindness. I've had a flood of kindnesses today. Three high profile bloggers featured my work--two without me even asking. The Interwebz may harbor a few trolls, but it also is a great place for people to make friends and be helpful to each other.

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  3. Susan,
    That sounds like some serious kindness, & effective, too. Thanks so much for popping by (& for being around to pop by, for that matter). Gratitude is a powerful thing.

    Anne,
    Hallelujah to the anti-trolls! I love the idea of floods of kindness. There's some flooding the world could use. And congratulations!

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  4. I'm overwhelmed by the kind encouragement of my Hancock College English teacher, Mike O'Brien, who critiqued both my YA novels. He's an inspiration.

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  5. Greetings Wanda,
    Thanks so much for taking note of some kindness. May your novels do smashingly well.

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