Fiction on Trial: Philip Roth, Ralph Ellison and Pietro di Donato at Yeshiva (1962)

Sponsor: The Catherine Frisone Scott Center, in collaboration with the departments of English, History, and Africana Studies, University of Massachusetts Boston

Speaker: William Connell, Professor of History and holder of the Joseph and Geraldine La Motta Endowed Chair in Italian Studies at Seton Hall University 

In March 1962, after repeated criticisms from prominent rabbis for having portrayed fellow Jews in a negative light in several of the stories that comprised Goodbye, Columbus, Philip Roth accepted an invitation from Yeshiva University to speak in a panel that would also include the writers Ralph Ellison and Pietro di Donato. The subject was whether a writer of fiction from a distinct minority group has a moral responsibility not to portray characters belonging to his own minority in a way that might do it harm by confirming existing prejudices. The widely publicized event elicited memorable responses from the the three writers, a Jew, a Black and an Italian American, who addressed their relationships with their communities and their art in ways that continue to resonate today. And there were hostile responses from some who were present. Professor Connell will show video that includes portions of the recently recovered audio tape of the symposium; he will discuss the background of the three writers; and he will point to differences between the fiction writer’s position in the 1960s and today.

Attendees seeking disability-related accommodations should contact Jill Conley, Jill.Conley at umb.edu.

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