• From the Cincinnati Reds to the Moscow Reds
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From the Cincinnati Reds to the Moscow Reds

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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 corres...
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  • 15 May 2015
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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 outstanding Russian cultural figures, 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.

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Price: $109.00
Pages: 244
Publisher: Academic Studies Press
Imprint: Academic Studies Press
Series: Jews of Russia & Eastern Europe and Their Legacy
Publication Date: 15 May 2015
Trim Size: 9.21 X 6.14 in
ISBN: 9781618113948
Format: Hardcover
BISACs:

Memoirs
“Irwin Weil has written a vibrant, nostalgic, strikingly sweet account of a life deeply enmeshed in Jewish, American, and above all Russian culture. Anecdote after heartfelt anecdote, he offers portraits of exemplary incidents and famous people, from Renato Poggiolo and Philip Rahv to Kornei Chukovsky and Dmitri Shostakovich. When others engage in ideological quarrel, we watch Irv spread good will. By the sheer power of warmth and charm, he passes unscathed through morally fraught situations. For those in the field of Russian Studies, the memoir will powerfully evoke what it was like in decades gone by." —Gary Saul Morson, Frances Hooper Professor of the Arts and Humanities, Northwestern University
— Gary Saul Morson, Frances Hooper Professor of the Arts and Humanities
Preface

Acknowledgments

Editor’s Note

1. The Lives of Sidney and Florence Weil

Ancestry

Sidney Weil

Florence Levy

Joining the Army

After the War

The Roaring Twenties

Faith and Family

Great Depression

Baseball Players

The Move

Life Insurance

Raising Money

Zionists and Education

The Horrors of World War II and Life After

Baseball versus Academia

Rabbi Heller

Jewish Traditions

Dad’s Greatest Pleasures

Later Years of Life

2. Early Years and Education of Irwin Weil

Introduction

Namesake

Growing Up

Early School Years

Vivian’s Family Background

Musical Background

Adolescent Politics and Experiences

First Impressions of Russia

Flying

University of Cincinnati

University of Chicago

Experiences with Russian History and Literature

Life in the Theater

Marriage to Vivian

Kulischer

Harvard

Brandeis

Northwestern

3. Entry into the Soviet Union

Going to the Soviet Union

A Welcome to Remember

KGB

Literary Endeavors

Trip to Leningrad

Malyshev and Alekseev

Jewish Father and Son in Leningrad

Firsthand Learning Experiences

Aunt Olga

Back in the United States

Days at Brandeis University

Returning to the Soviet Union—1963

Vitya, My Roommate and Advisor

The Search for Chukovsky

Meeting Chukovsky

Discussions in Chukovsky’s House

Bialik

Additional Thoughts about Gorky

4. Social and Political Reform in the Soviet Union

Evtushenko

Not Discussing Politics

Khrushchev

Kennedy

Judge Not

Ovcharenko

Marina Rafailovna Kaul and Rosalia Semyonovna Ginzburg

Being Cautious

American Association of Teachers of Slavic and East European

Languages (AATSEEL)

American Council of Teachers of Russian (ACTR)

Changes in Soviet Politics

Cold War Rhetoric

Prejudices and Privileges

Favorable Aspects

News

Shostakovich

Prokofiev

NabokovAfanasyev

Change

5. Letters from the USSR

Tues. Sept. 6, 1960

Wed. Sept. 7, 1960

Thurs. Sept. 8, 1960

Tues. Sept. 13, 1960

Index