Listen and read

Step into an infinite world of stories

  • Read and listen as much as you want
  • Over 1 million titles
  • Exclusive titles + Storytel Originals
  • 7 days free trial, then €9.99/month
  • Easy to cancel anytime
Subscribe Now
Details page - Device banner - 894x1036

Old Truths and New Clichés: Essays by Isaac Bashevis Singer

Language
English
Format
Category

Non-fiction

From the Nobel Prize–winning writer, a new collection of literary and personal essays

Old Truths and New Clichés collects nineteen essays—most of them previously unpublished in English—by Isaac Bashevis Singer on topics that were central to his artistic vision throughout an astonishing and prolific literary career spanning more than six decades. Expanding on themes reflected in his best-known work—including the literary arts, Yiddish and Jewish life, and mysticism and philosophy—the book illuminates in new ways the rich intellectual, aesthetic, religious, and biographical background of Singer’s singular achievement as the first Yiddish-language author to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Like a modern Montaigne, Singer studied human nature and created a body of work that contributed to a deeper understanding of the human spirit. Much of his philosophical thought was funneled into his stories. Yet these essays, which Singer himself translated into English or oversaw the translation of, present his ideas in a new way, as universal reflections on the role of the artist in modern society. The unpublished essays featured here include “Old Truths and New Clichés,” “The Kabbalah and Modern Times,” and “A Trip to the Circus.”

Old Truths and New Clichés brims with stunning archival finds that will make a significant impact on how readers understand Singer and his work. Singer’s critical essays have long been overlooked because he has been thought of almost exclusively as a storyteller. This book offers an important correction to the record by further establishing Singer as a formidable intellectual.

© 2022 Princeton University Press (Ebook): 9780691238982

Release date

Ebook: May 17, 2022

Others also enjoyed ...

  1. Under the Sign of Saturn: Essays Susan Sontag
  2. The Origins of Totalitarianism Hannah Arendt
  3. The Escape Artist: The Man Who Broke Out of Auschwitz to Warn the World Jonathan Freedland
  4. Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind Yuval Noah Harari
  5. South and West: From A Notebook Joan Didion
  6. Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow Yuval Noah Harari
  7. Crossroads Jonathan Franzen
  8. Mantel Pieces: Royal Bodies and Other Writing from the London Review of Books Hilary Mantel
  9. Tell Me How it Ends: An Essay in Forty Questions Valeria Luiselli
  10. Where the Stress Falls: Essays Susan Sontag
  11. We Should All Be Feminists Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
  12. The Art of Living: Peace and Freedom in the Here and Now Thich Nhat Hanh
  13. A Tale of Love and Darkness Amos Oz
  14. Testaments Betrayed: An Essay in Nine Parts Milan Kundera
  15. Against Interpretation, and Other Essays Susan Sontag
  16. Born To Kvetch: Yiddish Language and Culture in All of Its Moods Michael Wex
  17. I Thought My Father Was God Paul Auster
  18. A Kidnapped West: The Tragedy of Central Europe Milan Kundera
  19. Family Lexicon Natalia Ginzburg
  20. The Mirror and the Light: An Adaptation in 30 Minute Episodes Hilary Mantel
  21. The Years Annie Ernaux
  22. Blue in Chicago: And Other Stories Bette Howland
  23. All Aunt Hagar's Children: Stories by Edward P. Jones: Stories by Edward P. Jones Edward P. Jones
  24. You Are, Therefore I Am Thich Nhat Hanh
  25. The Cafeteria Isaac Bashevis Singer
  26. All The Light We Cannot See Anthony Doerr
  27. Fate Isaac Bashevis Singer
  28. Dear Life Alice Munro
  29. Why We're Polarized Ezra Klein
  30. Sontag: Her Life and Work Benjamin Moser
  31. Fear: Trump in the White House Bob Woodward
  32. Just Kids Patti Smith
  33. The Night Watchman Louise Erdrich
  34. Epic: Stories of Survival From The World’s Highest Peaks Alfred Lansing
  35. The Human Condition: Second Edition Hannah Arendt
  36. Climate Crisis and the Global Green New Deal: The Political Economy of Saving the Planet Noam Chomsky
  37. Half of a Yellow Sun Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
  38. The Essex Serpent: A Novel Sarah Perry
  39. Vinegar Hill Colm Tóibín
  40. A Woman's Story Annie Ernaux
  41. Demon Copperhead: A Novel Barbara Kingsolver
  42. Shuggie Bain: Winner of the Booker Prize 2020 Douglas Stuart
  43. The Gene: An Intimate History Siddhartha Mukherjee
  44. The Dutch House: A Novel Ann Patchett
  45. Nationalism, Marxism, and Modern Central Europe: A Biography of Kazimierz Kelles-Krauz, 1872-1905 Timothy Snyder
  46. The Complete Stories Clarice Lispector
  47. The Ghost Bride Yangsze Choo
  48. The Kindly Ones Jonathan Littell

This is why you’ll love Storytel

  • Listen and read without limits

  • 800 000+ stories in 40 languages

  • Kids Mode (child-safe environment)

  • Cancel anytime

Unlimited stories, anytime
Time limited offer

Unlimited

Listen and read as much as you want

9.99 € /month
  • 1 account

  • Unlimited Access

  • Offline Mode

  • Kids Mode

  • Cancel anytime

Try now

Ratings and reviews

Reviews at a glance

No reviews yet

Download the app to join the conversation and add reviews.