Edward Lewis Wallant (October 19, 1926 – December 5, 1962) was an American novelist who wrote '' The Pawnbroker'' (1961). It was adapted into an award-winning film of the same name, directed by

Sidney Lumet Sidney Arthur Lumet ( ; June 25, 1924 – April 9, 2011) was an American film director. Lumet started his career in theatre before moving to film, where he gained a reputation for making realistic and gritty New York City, New York dramas w ...

and starring

Rod Steiger Rodney Stephen Steiger ( ; April 14, 1925 – July 9, 2002) was an American actor, noted for his portrayal of offbeat, often volatile and crazed characters. Ranked as "one of Hollywood's most charismatic and dynamic stars", he is closely associ ...

. He also worked in the 1950s as an

art director Art director is a title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, live-action and animated film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supe ...

at the advertising firm

McCann Erickson McCann, formerly McCann Erickson, is an American global advertising agency network, with offices in over 120 countries. McCann is part of McCann Worldgroup, along with several other agencies, including direct digital marketing agency MRM//McC ...

Life and career

Wallant was born in

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is List ...

, to Anna Henrietta Mendel and Sol Ellis Wallant. He served in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

in 1945 as a gunner's mate with the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...

. He spent a total of two semesters the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, ...

and graduated from

Pratt Institute Pratt Institute is a private university with its main campus in Brooklyn, New York. It has an additional campus in Manhattan and an extension campus in Utica, New York at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. The institute was founded in 18 ...

in 1950, also studying literature and creative writing at

The New School The New School is a Private university, private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for p ...

. His time at

in Brooklyn, with daily commutes to Manhattan and frequent visits to

jazz club A jazz club is a venue where the primary entertainment is the performance of live jazz music, although some jazz clubs primarily focus on the study and/or promotion of jazz-music. Jazz clubs are usually a type of nightclub or bar, which is licens ...

s, inspired the New York settings of his books. He worked from 1957 to 1961 as an art director at advertising firm McCann-Erickson while he wrote ''The Pawnbroker'', working on accounts such as

Bulova Bulova is an American luxury timepiece manufacturing company that was founded in 1875 in New York City. Formally the Bulova Watch Company, it makes watches, clocks and accessories. History Founding Bulova was founded and incorporated as the J ...

, Chock full o' Nuts, and

Oreo Oreo (; stylized in all caps) is an American brand of sandwich cookie consisting of two cocoa biscuits with a sweet fondant filling. Oreos were introduced in 1912 by Nabisco, and the brand has been owned by Mondelez International since its me ...

by day while writing at night. Encouraged by his experience at the Bread Loaf Writer's Conference, he won a Guggenheim Award in 1962. Wallant began writing professionally at age twenty-nine. His first published works were short stories published in the ''New Voices: American Writing Today'' series volumes I, II and III. These stories include "When Ben Awakened", "I Held Back My Hand", and "The Man Who Made a Nice Appearance", among others. His novels include ''The Human Season'' (1960) and '' The Pawnbroker'' (1961), which was adapted into the 1964

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...

-nominated film of the same name directed by

and starring

Geraldine Fitzgerald Geraldine Mary Fitzgerald (November 24, 1913 – July 17, 2005) was an Irish actress. She received the Daytime Emmy Award as well as nominations for an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Tony Award. She was a member of the American T ...

, Juano Hernandez and

Morgan Freeman Morgan Freeman (born June 1, 1937) is an American actor, producer, and narrator. In a career spanning six decades, he has received numerous accolades, including an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award, as well as a nomination for a Tony ...

in his feature film debut. Two of his novels were published posthumously: '' The Tenants of Moonbloom'' (1963) and ''The Children at the Gate'' (1964). '' The Tenants of Moonbloom'' was republished in 2003 by

The New York Review of Books ''The New York Review of Books'' (or ''NYREV'' or ''NYRB'') is a semi-monthly magazine with articles on literature, culture, economics, science and current affairs. Published in New York City, it is inspired by the idea that the discussion of ...

. Wallant has been compared to fellow

Jewish-American American Jews (; ) or Jewish Americans are Americans, American citizens who are Jews, Jewish, whether by Jewish culture, culture, ethnicity, or Judaism, religion. According to a 2020 poll conducted by Pew Research, approximately two thirds of Am ...

writers of the

postwar period A post-war or postwar period is the interval immediately following the end of a war. The term usually refers to a varying period of time after World War II, which ended in 1945. A post-war period can become an interwar period or interbellum, w ...

such as

Saul Bellow Saul Bellow (born Solomon Bellows; June 10, 1915April 5, 2005) was a Canadian-American writer. For his literary work, Bellow was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, the 1976 Nobel Prize in Literature, and the National Medal of Arts. He is the only write ...

and

Philip Roth Philip Milton Roth (; March 19, 1933 – May 22, 2018) was an American novelist and short-story writer. Roth's fiction—often set in his birthplace of Newark, New Jersey—is known for its intensely autobiographical character, for philosophical ...

. Wallant died of an

aneurysm An aneurysm is an outward :wikt:bulge, bulging, likened to a bubble or balloon, caused by a localized, abnormal, weak spot on a blood vessel wall. Aneurysms may be a result of a hereditary condition or an acquired disease. Aneurysms can also b ...

at the age of 36. He was survived by his wife Joyce, who died in 1991, and by daughters Leslie and Kim and son Scott. His grandchildren include Nina, Steve, Nora, Edward (Eddie), Jon, Esme and Ruthie.

Legacy

The Edward Lewis Wallant Award was established at the

University of Hartford The University of Hartford (UHart) is a private university in West Hartford, Connecticut, United States. Its main campus extends into neighboring Hartford and Bloomfield. It enrolled approximately 6,000 undergraduate and graduate students as ...

shortly after his death in 1962. The award is presented annually to a writer whose fiction has significance for

American Jews American Jews (; ) or Jewish Americans are American citizens who are Jewish, whether by culture, ethnicity, or religion. According to a 2020 poll conducted by Pew Research, approximately two thirds of American Jews identify as Ashkenazi, 3% id ...

. The first awardee, in 1963, was Norman Fruchter. Subsequent awardees have included Hugh Nissenson,

Chaim Potok Chaim Potok (February 17, 1929 – July 23, 2002) was an American author, novelist, playwright, editor and rabbi. Of the more than a dozen novels he authored, his first book '' The Chosen'' (1967) was listed on ''The New York Times'' Best ...

, Leo E. Litwak,

Cynthia Ozick Cynthia Ozick (born April 17, 1928) is an American short story writer, novelist, and essayist. Biography Cynthia Ozick was born in New York City. The second of two children, Ozick was raised in the Bronx by her parents, Celia (née Regelson) and ...

Arthur A. Cohen Arthur Allen Cohen (June 25, 1928 – September 30, 1986) was an American scholar, art critic, theology, theologian, publisher, and author. Scholar David Stern (academic), David M. Stern has written of Cohen: "Though he was best known as a novel ...

, Susan Fromberg Schaeffer, Anne Bernays, Curt Leviant,

Francine Prose Francine Prose (born April 1, 1947) is an American novelist, short story writer, essayist, and critic. She is a visiting professor of literature at Bard College, and was formerly president of PEN American Center. Life and career Born in Broo ...

, Jay Neugeborn, Daphne Merkin, Steve Stern, Melvin Jules Bukiet, Gerald Shapiro, Rebecca Goldstein, Thane Rosenbaum, Harvey Grossinger,

Allegra Goodman Allegra Goodman (born 1967) is an American writer based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Early life and education Allegra Goodman was born in Brooklyn, New York, and raised in Hawaii. The daughter of Lenn and Madeleine Goodman,"Allegra Goodman." ' ...

, Judy Budnitz, Myla Goldberg, Dara Horn, Jonathan Rosen,

Nicole Krauss Nicole Krauss (born August 18, 1974) is an American author best known for her four novels '' Man Walks into a Room'' (2002), '' The History of Love'' (2005), '' Great House'' (2010) and '' Forest Dark'' (2017), which have been translated into ...

, Ehud Havazelet, Eileen Pollack,

Sara Houghteling Sara Houghteling (born 1977) is an American novelist and educator. Biography She was born in 1977 and graduated from Harvard magna cum laude in 1999. She received her Master's in Fine Arts in creative writing from the University of Michigan in ...

, Julie Orringer, Edith Pearlman, Kenneth Bonert, David Bezmogis
Rebecca Dinerstein
Ayelet Tsabari, and Margot Singer, among others.

Novels

*''The Human Season'' (1960) *'' The Pawnbroker'' (1961) *'' The Tenants of Moonbloom'' (1963) *''The Children at the Gate'' (1964)

Awards

* 1961:

National Jewish Book Award The Jewish Book Council (Hebrew: ), founded in 1943, is an American organization encouraging and contributing to Jewish literature. The goal of the council, as stated on its website, is "to promote the reading, writing and publishing of qual ...

for ''The Human Season''

References

External links

Official site of the Edward Lewis Wallant Awards

Dave Eggers hails Edward Lewis Wallant , Books , The Guardian
* Edward Lewis Wallant Papers. Yale Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wallant, Edward Lewis 1926 births 1962 deaths 20th-century American Jews 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American novelists American male novelists Jewish American military personnel Jewish American novelists Military personnel from Connecticut Military personnel from New Haven, Connecticut Novelists from Connecticut Pratt Institute alumni The New School alumni United States Navy personnel of World War II University of Connecticut alumni Writers from New Haven, Connecticut