THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS Friday, November 30, 1984 17

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nice and is good to happen. I
want to read more of his
books."
Rachel didn't parse Singer's
prose. She didn't diagram his
sentences. She didn't look for
meanings. She sat back, wait-
ing for a good story by a master
storyteller. She heard one and
she knew it.
No matter where Singer
speaks, no matter what the
age of his audience the same
questions invariably crop up.
They have little to do with
Singer's writing: "What about
Yentl? What about Barbra
Streisand? Do you like the
movie? Was it faithful to your
play?"
The high school kids are not
immune from this pop culture
curiosity. And Singer, ever
tactful, ever charming, begins
as he usually does when he
hears these questions. He as-
sures the students. "I don't
like to say bad things." With
that preamble, we- know
what's coming. Of Streisand,
the woman who showed up in-
stead of Marilyn Monroe that
afternoon in Singer's West
86th Street apartment, Singer
said, "God did not give us so
many gifts" to be able to direct,
produce, write, act and sing in
a film. And of Yentl, Singer
said, in his gently, incisive
way, "Of course, every mis-
take can be corrected. But a
mistake that cost $20 million
may cost $20 million to cor-
rect. That is too bad. Other
things can be done with so
much money."
With these words, the read-
ing is over. The students
gather about Singer on the
stage, asking more questions
of this man who reminds so
many of the grandfather they
never knew. Surprisingly,
these young people seem to
embrace Singer as
enthusiastically as do the old.
They know little of the Poland
of which he writes. They know
little of Yiddish. But they do
know a story when they hear
one. They have been ready —
as have children of every gen-
eration — to let themselves be
transported by the poetry of
words and the flights of im-
agination. Maybe because of
the numbings of television and
movies and rock videos, they '
are eager to hear and touch
and chat — if only for a mo-
ment — with one of the last of
the great storytellers.
As the crowd thickens
around Singer, I think of what
he told me earlier that morn-
ing: "When I look at myself, I

Continued on next page

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