Singer, Isaac Bashevis (1904–1991)

Polish-born US novelist and short-story writer. He lived in the USA from 1935. His works, written in Yiddish, often portray traditional Jewish life in Poland and the USA, and the loneliness of old age. They include The Family Moskat (1950) and Gimpel the Fool and Other Stories (1957). He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1978.

Written in an often magical storytelling style, his works combine a deep psychological insight with dramatic and visual impact. Many of his novels were written for serialization in New York Yiddish newspapers. Among his works are The Slave (1960), Shosha (1978), Old Love (1979), Lost in America (1981), The Image and Other Stories (1985), and The Death of Methuselah (1988). He also wrote plays and books for children.

He fled Nazi-dominated Europe and became a US citizen 1942.