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Irwin Weil: Meanderings of an Octogenarian Slavist: The Memoirs of Irwin Weil (Jews of Russia & Eastern Europe and Their Legacy)

Irwin Weil: Meanderings of an Octogenarian Slavist: The Memoirs of Irwin Weil (Jews of Russia & Eastern Europe and Their Legacy)

by Tony Brown (Editor), Irwin Weil (Author)

  • New

    Hardcover 2015

    $77.68
Synopsis

This book brings together a lifetime of experiences told by a beloved member of the field of Slavic languages and literature - Irwin Weil. During the Soviet era, Irwin frequently visited and corresponded with leading members of Russia's intelligentsia, including prominent emigres such as Vladimir Nabokov, Korney Chukovsky, and Dmitrii Shostakovich. His deep love of the Russian people and their culture has touched the lives of countless students, in particular at Northwestern University, where he has taught since 1966. It is these stories of an unassuming Jewish American from Cincinnati, Ohio who rubbed shoulders with some of the most prominent thinkers, writers, and musicians in the Soviet Union that are presented for the first time in this volume.

$77.68

Quantity

10 in stock

More Information

Format: Hardcover
 Pages: 245
 Publisher: Academic Studies Press
Published: 30 Jun 2015
ISBN 10: 1618113941
ISBN 13: 9781618113948

Media Reviews
In an engaging and moving way, Irwin Weil reflects upon his almost ninety-year existence (including half a century as professor of Russian at Northwestern University). Indeed, the most salient feature of Weil's memoirs is that when he talks about his personal and professional life, he speaks not only about himself but also about two generations of scholar-teachers who, like Weil, had no idea that they would fall under the sway of Mother Russia, or that they would spend their lives professing her charms...In writing his recollections, Weil expresses the hope that he has affected for the better the lives of both Russians and Americans. As evidenced by From the Cincinnati Reds to the Moscow Reds, he has. Indeed, Weil's examined life has been well worth living. -- Thomas Gaiton Marullo, University of Notre Dame, The Russian Review (April 2016, Vol. 75, No. 2)
Author Bio
Irwin Weil was born in 1928 in Cincinnati, Ohio of German Jewish and Lithuanian Jewish immigrants. His father Sidney was a former owner of the Cincinnati Reds baseball team. Initially majoring in economics at the University of Chicago, he was drawn to Slavic studies after discovering Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov in a required literature course and being (in his words) knocked for a loop. He reports that he ran to a bookstore, picked up a copy of Crime and Punishment, read it in two days, and resolved to learn the language of such a great body of literature. Weil received his bachelor's degree from the University of Chicago in 1948 and his masters degree in Slavic Studies in 1951. After three years of working on a Soviet census for the U.S. Library of Congress, Weil began his PhD at Harvard University, where he had received a Ford Foundation fellowship to work toward his doctorate in Slavic Studies. After receiving the degree in 1960, he taught at Brandeis University. While at Brandeis, Weil was a professor of Russian literature and linguistics. He was influential in the development and growth of the Slavic Studies program at Brandeis. Weils first major work a dissertation on the development of the writing style of Maksim Gorky was completed in 1958. His other works include Notes on the Contemporary Soviet Literary Scene and Literary Activities. Tony Brown is an Associate Professor of Russian at Brigham Young University where he has taught since 2004. Brown received his MA and PhD degrees in Russian and Second Language Acquisition at Bryn Mawr College. His research interests include second language acquisition, language policy, and the cultural history of Russia. Brown also is the author/co-author of articles published in venues, such as Modern Language Journal, Foreign Language Annals, Slavic and East European Journal, Russian Language Journal, and Language Policy. He currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the American Council of Teachers of Russian.