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THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Charles Madison's Literary Achievements
Recalled on Ex-Detroiter's 85th Birthday
Charles A. Madison was
an escapee from pogroms he
witnessed in Russia, coming
to Detroit with his family in
1906 at the age of 11. He
was his family's supporter
as a teenager. He worked in
factories nights to fulfill the
ambition of an education at
the University of Michigan.
His published literary
works placed him in top
ranks among the authors of
this generation.
A life marked by many
obstacles and challenges
now is being recalled in his
memoirs soon to be pub-
lished. Attention to them is
called by his approaching
85th birthday.
As a youth, the youngest
of five children, Madison
sold matches and later
newspapers to help his fam-
ily survive. When his father
died, Madison took the re-
sponsibility of supporting
his family, while at the
same time pursuing his
education.
At age 14, he quit
school to become a lathe
operator to support the
family, but did much
reading and writing of
verse.
Compelled to receive a
college education, Madison
enrolled in Central High
School, and with the knowl-
edge he gained on his own
and one year of classes at
the school he was able to
graduate.
A draft deferment
allowed him to enroll in the
University of Michigan,
where he was active in
Jewish and general activi-
ties. He helped revive the
Intercollegiate Socialist
Society and organized the
Jewish Student Society,
which urged the college lib-
rarian to subscribe to Yid-
dish periodicals.
An active member of the
Menorah Society at U-M,
Madison won prizes for his
essays, his first on author
Mendele Moher Seforim.
The draft board recon-
sidered his deferment,
and he was given the op-
tion of being a guard in
an eastern port or work-
ing in a factory; he chose
the latter since it would
allow him to return to col-
lege. He earned high
grades and won the
Menorah Society con-
tests in 1920 and 1921. He
also was elected to Phi
Beta Kappa honorary
society.
He applied to Harvard
University and there his
prize-winning essays from
the Menorah Society were
published in a scholarly
CHARLES A. MADISON
quarterly. Upon advice
from the college, Madison
joined The American Book
Co., at which he edited
manuscripts anal in 1924
joined Henry Holt and Co.,
where he remained until his
retirement in 1962. He was
the first Jew in educational
publishing.
Madisonhas written arti-
cles on Yiddish writers and
they have been widely pub-
lished. He is the author of
several books, among them:
"Critics and Crusaders,"
"American Labor Leaders,"
"Leaders and Liberals in
20th Century America,"
"Yiddish Literature" and
"Eminent American Jews."
He also wrote "Jewish
Publishing in America" at
the invitation of the Hebrew
Publishing Co., and cur-
rently is working on a book
on author-publisher rela-
tions entitled, "Irving to
Irving," recalling Washing-
ton Irving's aid in helping
his publisher, Putnam, from
going bankrupt, to the Clif-
ford Irving hoax of the
1970s.
Madison met the
former Edith Hellman,
who was to become his
wife, in Ann Arbor in
1920. In 1922, he went to
New York to work and
learned that Edith had
moved there to care for
her dying father. The
couple were married in
1924. They have a daugh-
ter, Mrs. Leonard (Jeppy)
Yarensky, a social
worker, and two
grandchildren, Peter and
Cathy.
Mrs. Madison, a profes-
sional painter, died in 1970
from lung cancer. After her
death, the American
Friends of Hebrew Univer-
sity had an exhibit of her
works, and more than
$3,000 was raised which
went for a scholarship at
Hebrew University.
A brother, Harry, and a
sister, Dorothy Ziegler, still
survive.
Asked to summarize his
accomplishments, Madison
said: "My aim (is) to
demonstrate the love of
learning that has been the
propelling factor of my
existence and is illustrative
of the quality that made
Friday, March 28, 1980 31
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