Polish lawmakers commemorate Jewish novelist Isaac Bashevis Singer

The Polish parliament adopts a resolution commemorating Yiddish novelist Isaac Bashevis Singer, who 40 years ago received the Nobel Prize for Literature.

In the resolution, Polish lawmakers stress that Singer’s work – in Yiddish – is an integral part of Polish cultural heritage.

As is recalled in the resolution, Singer was honored in 1978 by the Swedish Academy for “full of feelings prose, which, growing out of the Polish-Jewish cultural traditions, at the same time touches on the eternal problems.”

“Isaac Bashevis Singer occupies a unique place in the history of Poland as a writer who in his work has perpetuated and commemorated images of a Jewish community non-existing today in our country,” reads the document approved by the Sejm.

Singer was born in 1902 in Leoncin, Poland and later lived in Warsaw and Biłgoraj. He presented in his works a colorful world of Jews who had lived in eastern Poland for centuries. The resolution also recalls his award-winning writing and journalistic activity after he immigrated to the United States in 1935, as well as his commitment to defending animal rights.

“Appreciating the great contribution of Isaac Bashevis Singer to the Polish and world culture, its sensitivity and originality of thought, the Sejm of the Republic of Poland today adopts a resolution regarding the commemoration of an outstanding artist, expressing the highest recognition for his work and honoring his memory,” says the document.

— JTA