Occupation Novelist, Professor Citizenship American Ethnicity Jewish Role Novelist | Nationality American Name I. Kapstein Language English Alma mater Brown University | |
Born Israel James Kapstein
January 16, 1904
Fall River, Massachusetts ( 1904-01-16 ) Died August 5, 1983, Providence, Rhode Island, United States Awards Guggenheim Fellowship for Creative Arts, US & Canada | ||
Education Brown University (1933) | ||
Israel James "IJ" Kapstein (1904–1983) was a novelist, professor, and Hebrew scholar at Brown University.
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Early life
Israel James Kapstein was born in Fall River, Massachusetts, and grew up in Providence, Rhode Island. With a childhood friend, S. J. Perelman, he attended Classical High School and Brown University. In college he wrote for the literary supplement of the Brown Daily Herald, contributed to the book review page of The Brown Jug, and was editor of Casements.
Career
He published a novella, The Song the Summer Evening Sings, in 1937, and his short stories appeared in such magazines as Good Housekeeping and Collier's. In 1941, his novel Something of a Hero was a best seller. As a professor, he collaborated with Rabbi William Braudeon translating ancient Hebrew texts. Their translation of the classical Hebrew and Aramaic work, Pesikta De- Rab Kahana: R. Kahana's Compilation of Discourses for Sabbaths and Festal Days, won the 1976 National Jewish Book Award.