Ann Judith Birstein (May 27, 1927 – May 24, 2017) was an American Fulbright Scholar, novelist, memoirist, essayist, film critic, blogger,[1] and professor.[2]

Ann Birstein
BornAnn Judith Birstein
(1927-05-27)May 27, 1927
New York City, U.S.
DiedMay 24, 2017(2017-05-24) (aged 89)
New York City, U.S.
Occupation
  • Novelist
  • memoirist
  • essayist
  • film critic
  • blogger
  • professor
Alma materQueens College
Spouse
(m. 1952; div. 1982)
Children1
RelativesBernard Birstein (father)

Biography

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She was born in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of New York City and was the daughter of the notable Rabbi Bernard Birstein of the Actor's Temple.[3] She attended Queens College[3] and published her first novel, Star of Glass, in 1950 at the age of twenty three. She was married to and later divorced the literary critic Alfred Kazin, with whom she had a daughter, Cathrael Kazin. Birstein was also stepmother to professor and author Michael Kazin. She was a former professor of Barnard College.[2]

She died at home in New York on May 24, 2017, following a long illness.[4]

Novels

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  • Star of Glass (1950)
  • The Troublemaker
  • The Sweet Birds of Gorham
  • Summer Situations
  • Dickie's List
  • American Children
  • The Rabbi on Forty-seventh Street (biography of her father, Rabbi Bernard Birstein)
  • The Last of the True Believers
  • What I Saw at the Fair (autobiography)
  • Vanity Fare (2009)[5]

References

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  1. ^ "My Life is History". Ann Birstein Blog. August 4, 2011. Archived from the original on September 12, 2011. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
  2. ^ a b "Ann Birstein Biography". Ann Birstein. Archived from the original on June 1, 2016. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
  3. ^ a b "Ann Birstein '48". QCPages. Archived from the original on September 27, 2011. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
  4. ^ Roberts, Sam (May 29, 2017). "Ann Birstein, Memoirist and Novelist, Dies at 89". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 30, 2017. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
  5. ^ "My Books". Ann Birstein. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
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