16
Friday, November 30, 1984 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
PROFILE
I.B. Singer
Continued from preceding page
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the things I would like to say
might not interest the very
young or they might not
understand," he said.
Yet, Singer does remember
talking to a group of psychiat-
rists at the Menninger Clinic.
He then spoke to several chil-
dren being treated at the
clinic. "They asked me the
same questions as the doc-
tors," Singer said. "Children
understand things. The ideas
of Spinoza, of Kant, of
Schopenhauer, of the great
philosophers you will find in a
child of ten. They think the
same things. They think about
infinity. They think about the
problems of eternity."
More than 59 of Singer's
books are in print. About a
third of these are for children.
He seems to share the inno-
cence, the wholesome naivete
of children. In 1978, there was
a dinner for Singer and other
Nobel laureates on the eve-
ning that the Nobel Prizes
were awarded in Stockholm.
Singer told of his reasons for
writing in Yiddish.
"First," he said, "I like to
write ghost stories and noth-
ing fits a ghost better than a
dying language. The deader
the language, the more alive
the ghost."
Singer's belief in resurrec-
tion had also convinced him to
write in Yiddish. Without his
efforts (and those of the very
few other Yiddish writers to-
day), there wouldn't be much
of an answer for the "millions
of Yiddish-speaking corpses
[who] will rise from their
graves one day" asking their
first question: Is there any
new Yiddish book to read?"
And, said Singer, he writes
in Yiddish because it is the
only language I really know
well."
Singer also listed his rea-
sons for writing for children.
He enjoys, he said, the purity,
the openness which children
bring to books. They have no
use for psychology," he said.
They detest sociology. They
don't try to understand Kafka
or Finnegan's Wake. They still
believe in God, the family,
angels, devils, and witches.
They love interesting stories,
not commentary guides or
footnotes. When a book is bor-
ing, they yawn openly without
shame or fear of authority.
They don't expect their be-
loved writer to redeem hu-
manity. Young as they are,
they know it is not in his
power. Only adults have such
childish delusions."
The adults the night of the
Presidential debate asked
Singer autographed a
copy of one of his
books, following an
appearance on a
lecture series
program.
Singer to explicate, to elabo-
rate, to annotate. "What new
perspectives," asked the first
questioner, "did your writing
give the world?"
"You don't expect me to
stand here and praise my
work," replied Singer. "Litera-
ture is made to entertain
people, not to change the
world."
No one asked about the
meaning, the import, the pro-
per interpretation of Singer's
stories the next morning when
he appeared before the high
school students. There were no
Ph.D.s in the audience, no
neophyte philosophers.
Singer was more in his ele-
ment there. He knew it and he
quickly let his audience know
it. We are living," he said, "in
a time of little story telling.
Children may save us. Chil-
dren are the last readers of
stories."
Singer read Rachel and
Menashe, a short story about
two blind children.. The
9-year-old sitting next to me,
Rachel Miller, had a copy of
the book in which the story
appears. We read it silently
together as Singer read it into
a troublesome microphone.
When he finished, Rachel
turned to me and whispered,
"He's a brilliant person. He
writes about what he thinks is