Curt Leviant (born 1932, ViennaHarry Zohn, Österreichische Juden in der Literatur (Olamenu, 1969), p. 37.) is a retired Jewish Studies professor, as well as a novelist and translator.
Personal life and career His parents were Jacques and Fenia Leviant. They spoke Yiddish at home, and encouraged their son's interest in Yiddish literature and theater.From his thanks to his parents in some of his Sholom Aleichem translations, Stories and Satires (1959) and Old Country Tales (1966), including their help with obscure Yiddish idioms, especially those of Russian origin.
He came to the United States in 1938. He took a BA from CUNY (Brooklyn), followed in 1957 by an MA from Columbia,Rutgers Catalog, p. 88 with a thesis on Lamed Shapiro.Cited in From 1960, he taught Hebraic studies at Rutgers, taking a PhD there in 1966 with a doctoral thesis that was a translation with commentary, published in 1969 as King Artur: A Hebrew Authurian Romance of 1279.Cecil Roth, Encyclopaedia Judaica (Encyclopaedia Judaica, 1996: ), Vol. 1, p. 33.The Writers Directory, 31st edition, St. James Press (part of Gale, Cengage Learning) 2013 Rutgers Catalog, p. 88
He married Erika Leah Pfeifer, they had three daughters, Dalya, Dvora, Shulamit.From the dedication to Masterpieces of Hebrew Literature, Ktav, 1969.
Leviant was also a book reviewer, usually of Jewish authors, with reviews appearing in The New York Times, The Nation, and other publications, especially Jewish media. In more recent years, he has been, co-authoring with his wife, a Jewish travel writer.
According to Lewis Fried, "his fiction is nuanced, surprising, and often arabesque, dealing with the demands of the present and the claims of the past.""Leviant, Curt" entry in Encyclopaedia Judaica, 2nd edition, 2007, v. 12, p. 696.
Novels
The Yemenite Girl. Bobbs-Merrill, 1977; Avon/Bard Books, 1978; Syracuse University Press, 1999 expansion of a 1973 short story of the same title, published in The Literary Review, Fall 1973. winner of the Edward Lewis Wallant Award Passion in the Desert Avon/Bard Books, 1980 The Man Who Thought He Was Messiah. Jewish Publication Society, 1990 Partita in Venice. Livingston Press, 1999 Diary of an Adulterous Woman: A Novel: Including an ABC Dictionary That Offers Alphabetical Tidbits and Surprises. Syracuse University Press, 2001 A Novel of Klass. Livingston, 2008 Kafka's Son. Dzanc Books, 2016 Katz or Cats, or How Jesus Became my Rival in Love. Dzanc Books, 2018
Shorter fiction Ladies and Gentlemen, the Original Music of the Hebrew Alphabet and Weekend in Mustara: Two Novellas. University of Wisconsin Press, 2002 Zix Zexy Ztories. Texas Tech University Press, 2012
Translations
Leviant has translated from Hebrew and Yiddish to English, including: The Yeshiva, by Chaim Grade. The Agunah, by Chaim Grade. More Stories from my Father's Court, by Isaac Bashevis Singer. Stories and Satires, by Sholom Aleichem. Old Country Tales, by Sholom Aleichem. From the Fair, by Sholom Aleichem. The Jewish Government and Other Stories, by Lamed Shapiro. The Heart-stirring Sermon and other Stories, by Abraham Reisen. The Golem and the Wondrous Deeds of the Maharal of Prague, by Yudl Rosenberg (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2007).
References
External links . Orlando Sentinel, December 7, 2008. Accessed 2011-03-01. Leviant on Chaim Grade Jewish Action Leviant on Chaim Grade Jewish Review of Books "Se l'amore fa dimenticare persino l'aleph bet", Sette - October 4th 2013 Leviant interview with an Italian newspaper. He implies an age that would have meant he wrote his master's thesis at age 13 and was on the Rutgers faculty at age 16.