Joseph Epstein (essayist)

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Joseph Epstein (born January 9, 1937 in Chicago ) is an American essayist , short story writer and editor. He was best known as the former editor of the intellectual journal The American Scholar of the Phi Beta Kappa Society and for his essay volume Snobbery : The American Version .

Life and work

Epstein grew up in Chicago's Rogers Park neighborhood. He graduated from the University of Chicago . He later worked from 1974 to 2002 as a lecturer ("lecturer") at Northwestern University . He is co-editor of The Weekly Standard and a longtime essay and short story writer for The New Criterion and Commentary .

Epstein's life's work shows his fascination for insights into everyday situations and amusing trends. In some of his essays he also deals with the assumptions and ideas of famous or forgotten historical writers. His short stories often focus on the city of Chicago, whose inhabitants and events he has observed since childhood. In 2003, the USA recognized him with the National Humanities Medal .

Works (selection)

Essay collections and monographs:

  • Divorced in America: Marriage in an Age of Possibility (1974)
  • Familiar Territory: Observations on American Life (1979)
  • Ambition : The Secret Passion (1980)
  • Middle of My Tether: Familiar Essays (1983)
  • Plausible Prejudices: Essays on American Writing (1985)
  • Once More Around the Block: Familiar Essays (1987)
  • Partial Payments: Essays on Writers and Their Lives (1988)
  • A Line Out for a Walk: Familiar Essays (1991)
  • Pertinent Players: Essays on the Literary Life (1993)
  • With My Trousers Rolled: Familiar Essays (1995)
  • Life Sentences: Literary Essays (1997)
  • Narcissus Leaves the Pool: Familiar Essays (1999, Paperback 2007)
  • Snobbery: The American Version (2002)
  • Envy (2003), German envy. The worst mortal sin Translated from the English by Matthias Wolf. Verlag Klaus Wagenbach, Berlin 2010. 124 pp. ISBN 978-3-8031-2650-4
  • Friendship: An Exposé (2006)
  • Alexis de Tocqueville: Democracy's Guide (2006)
  • In a Cardboard Belt !: Essays Personal, Literary, and Savage (2007)
  • Fred Astaire (2008)

Short story volumes:

  • The Goldin Boys: Stories (1991)
  • Fabulous Small Jews (2003)
  • The Love Song of A. Jerome Minkoff: And Other Stories (2010)

Short stories:

  • My Brother Eli In: The Best American Short Stories 2007 pp. 85–112
  • Beyond the Pale In: The Best American Short Stories 2009 pp. 41–59

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. Archive link ( Memento of the original from March 15, 2005 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.centerstagechicago.com
  2. ^ The New York Times : News about Joseph Epstein, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times
  3. Archived copy ( Memento of the original dated February 17, 2004 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.neh.gov