Tony Eprile Explained
Tony Eprile is a South African and American writer. His 2004 novel, The Persistence of Memory, won the Koret Jewish Book Award in 2005, beating out The Plot Against America by Philip Roth.[1] [2]
Early life
Tony Eprile was born in Hillbrow, Johannesburg, South Africa in 1955 to Jewish parents.[3] [4] His mother, Liesel Weil was a from a well-to-do German Jewish family in Frankfurt that were adherents of Liberal Judaism. Amid the rise of the Nazi Party in Germany, she emigrated to South Africa in 1936 at the age of seventeen. Eprile's father, Cecil Eprile, a Scottish Jew, also arrived in South Africa in 1936. Cecil was the editor of the Golden City Post, a liberal newspaper catering to a black South African readership and advocating for the end of apartheid.[5]
In the late 1960s, he emigrated to England with his parents and brother when he was 12 years-old. The family then emigrated to the United States between 1970 and 1972[6] [7] At the age of 17, Eprile then a recent arrival in the United States, took a writing class at college. He produced a South African-themed short story titled, "Cough’s Tokoloshe", with the tokoloshe employed as a metaphor for white fears. Year later, he gave a copy of the story to a visiting poet, Robert Hayden. Hayden invited him to talk to him about the story, and they became friends, with Hayden acting as an important mentor to Eprile.[8]
He attended Connecticut College, graduating with a BA in Anthropology. He later graduated with an MA in Creative Writing from Brown University.[9]
Career
Eprile is the author of the 1989 book Temporary Sojourner and Other South African Stories,[10] which was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year.[11]
His 2004 book The Persistence of Memory[6] [12] [13] won the Koret Jewish Book Award.[14] Anderson Tepper, writing in The Forward, speculated that the novel "just might prove to be the [South African] Jewish community’s masterpiece."[15] The novel was also a New York Times Notable Book of the Year.[16] It was also listed as a best book of 2004 by The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times.[17]
He has taught at Northwestern University, Williams College, Bennington College, Lesley University, and the Iowa Writers' Workshop.[18]
He has also published guest columns, book reviews, literary criticism and interviews with writers for titles such as The New York Times, The Nation, The Washington Post, Tablet and The Johannesburg Review of Books.[19] [20] [21] [22] [23] He acts as an Editorial Advisory Panel member for The Johannesburg Review of Books with Antjie Krog and Lauren Beukes, among others.[23] [24]
Personal life
Eprile lives in Vermont in the United States with his wife, Judith D. Schwartz, whom he married in 1989.[25] [26]
Publications
Short stories
- Temporary Sojourner and Other South African Stories (1989)
Novels
Notes and References
- https://www.jta.org/archive/koret-honors-jewish-writers-works-for-community-of-readers Koret Honors Jewish Writers, Works for Community of Readers
- https://www.jta.org/2006/03/07/lifestyle/jewish-book-awards-get-facelift Jewish book awards get facelift
- Web site: the ILANOT Review. www.biu.ac.il.
- Book: Switzerland), Posen Library of Jewish culture and civilization (Lucerne. The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, Volume 10: 1973-2005. November 20, 2012. Yale University Press. 9780300135534. Google Books.
- https://www.oprah.com/book/reading-room-sept-2018-the-prison-letters-of-nelson-mandela?editors_pick_id=74590 17 Books to Kick-Start Fall
- Web site: Sandee . Brawarsky . 'Memory' Shapes Life and History. Jewish Journal . September 9, 2004 .
- Web site: Laughter and Forgetting. Frances. Taliaferro . book review . June 13, 2004. Washington Post .
- https://www.massreview.org/node/713 10 Questions for Tony Eprile
- https://lesley.edu/about/faculty-staff-directory/tony-eprile Tony Eprile
- Web site: Where Men Are Boys Even Now. Hazel. Rochman. August 20, 1989. NYTimes.com.
- Web site: Eprile, Tony 1955(?)- | Encyclopedia.com. www.encyclopedia.com.
- Web site: Truth and Reconciliation. Theo. Tait. August 8, 2004. The New York Times .
- Web site: Ah, but the land is unforgettable. July 18, 2004. Los Angeles Times.
- Web site: Jewish book awards get facelift. March 7, 2006.
- https://forward.com/culture/4050/south-african-jews-begin-to-tell-tales/ South African Jews Begin To Tell Tales
- https://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/05/books/review/100-notable-books-of-the-year.html 100 Notable Books of the Year
- https://www.benningtonbanner.com/local-news/authors-tony-eprile-and-judith-d-schwartz-wrap-books-for-bennington/article_3c2dea8d-639c-5ef2-9519-505d1c9f17f4.html Authors Tony Eprile and Judith D. Schwartz wrap ‘Books for Bennington’
- Book: The Columbia Guide to South African Literature in English Since 1945. Gareth. Cornwell. Dirk. Klopper. Craig. Mackenzie. April 13, 2010. Columbia University Press. 9780231503815. Google Books.
- https://www.nytimes.com/1990/01/07/books/ma-why-did-you-make-me-black.html'MA, WHY DID YOU MAKE ME BLACK?'
- https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/gordimers-way/ Gordimer’s Way
- https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/entertainment/books/1990/05/27/secrets-of-a-small-town-in-germany/9eec6d57-0c32-490f-a3de-2fd3bf954064/ SECRETS OF A SMALL TOWN IN GERMANY
- https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/community/articles/putting-out-the-unwelcome-mat Putting Out the Unwelcome Mat
- https://johannesburgreviewofbooks.com/2020/01/16/conversation-issue-i-know-what-lurks-in-the-bushes-and-thats-how-i-write-the-stories-jason-reynolds-talks-to-tony-eprile-about-resistance-and-the-imagination/ [Conversation Issue] ‘I know what lurks in the bushes. And that’s how I write the stories’—Jason Reynolds talks to Tony Eprile about resistance and the imagination
- https://johannesburgreviewofbooks.com/2022/05/02/the-jrb-five-years-50-issues-425-contributors/ The JRB: five years, 50 issues, 425 contributors
- https://www.judithdschwartz.com/about about
- https://www.nytimes.com/1989/10/29/style/judith-schwartz-weds-tony-eprile.html Judith Schwartz Weds Tony Eprile
