Joel Shatzky (November 30, 1943 – April 3, 2020) was an American writer and literary professor at the

State University of New York The State University of New York (SUNY ) is a system of Public education, public colleges and universities in the New York (state), State of New York. It is one of the List of largest universities and university networks by enrollment, larges ...

Biography

Shatzky, who grew up in

the Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

, attended

High School of Music & Art The High School of Music & Art, informally known as Music & Art (or M&A), was a public specialized high school located at 443-465 West 135th Street in the borough of Manhattan, New York, from 1936 until 1984. In 1961, Music & Art and the High S ...

. He studied at

Queens College Queens College (QC) is a public college in the New York City borough of Queens. Part of the City University of New York system, Queens College occupies an campus primarily located in Flushing. Queens College was established in 1937 and offe ...

, obtained a master's degree from the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

in 1965 and a doctoral degree in dramatic literature from the

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

in 1970. From 1968 until his retirement in 2005, he taught at the

. His play '' It's a Clean, Well-lighted Place '' was published in 1976 at the Theater des Londoner

Institute of Contemporary Arts The Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) is an modernism, artistic and cultural centre on The Mall (London), The Mall in London, just off Trafalgar Square. Located within Nash House, part of Carlton House Terrace, near the Duke of York Steps a ...

. The play '' The Day They Traded Seaver '' was performed in 1979 by '' Soho Artists '' under the direction of Dino Narrizano. Several one-act plays were then performed at the '' Thirteenth Street Rep '' and the '' One Dream Theater ''. Other pieces have been produced in Philadelphia, San Francisco and at the ''Improv Theater'' in Los Angeles. With his wife Dorothy, Shatzky wrote the book ''Facing Multiple Sclerosis: Our Longest Journey'' (1999). His novel ''Iago’s Tale'' was published in 2002. In cooperation with Michael Taub the standard works ''Contemporary Jewish-American Novelists'' (1997) and ''Contemporary Jewish-American Dramatists and Poets'' (1999) were written. The former was recognized by the magazine ''Choice'' as "Outstanding Book of 1997". His preoccupation with the history of the Holocaust led to the publication of the memories of the Holocaust survivors Susan Cernyak-Spatz ("Protective Custody Prisoner 34042") and Norbert Troller ("Theresienstadt: Hitler's "Gift" to the Jews).Norbert Troller. Theresienstadt: Hitler's Gift to the Jews. The University of North Carolina Press, 1991. Shatzky died from complications of

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

on April 3, 2020.

Works

* Hrsg.: Norbert Troller ''Theresienstadt: Hitler’s “Gift” to the Jews'' 1991 * with Michael Taub: ''Contemporary Jewish-American Novelists'' 1997 * with Michael Taub: ''Contemporary Jewish-American Dramatists and Poets'' 1999 * mit Dorothy Shatzky: ''Facing Multiple Sclerosis: Our Longest Journey'', 1999 * mit Ellen Hill: ''The Thinking Crisis: The Disconnection of Teaching and Learning in Today’s Schools'' 2001 * ''Iago’s Tale: A Novel'' 2002 * ''Well of Evil (Young Adult Novel)'' 2004 * ''Common Sense: What America Must Do to Save Democracy'' (with a foreword by

Stephen Bronner Stephen Eric Bronner (born 19 August 1949) is a political scientist and philosopher, Board of Governors Professor of Political Science at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, United States, and is the Director of Global Relations for ...

), 2004 * Hrsg.: Susan Cernyak-Spatz ''Protective Custody Prisoner 34042'' 2005 * with Joanne Napoli: ''Eternal Duet: The Story of Robert and Clara Schumann'', 2005 * ''Option Three: A Novel about the University'', 2005 * ''Intelligent Design: A Fable'' Science-Fiction-Roman 2007

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shatzky, Joel 1943 births 2020 deaths 20th-century American Jews 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American novelists American male novelists American science fiction writers Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in New York (state) Jewish American novelists American literary scholars People from Vancouver, Washington State University of New York faculty