Other Literary Interests

A few other examples of Isaiah’s literary passions, fascinations, and friendships:

A 1986 production of Susie Burke’s play Cauldron, about Yeats’s relationship with Maud Gonne, directed by Isaiah at the Irish Arts Center. Announcements in the New York Times Going Out Guide here and her e.

A 1992 tribute to the poetry of Walt Whitman

“What is so remarkable about Whitman’s works is how modern they are; on issues like war and feminism and poverty, he was right on the money.”

Isaiah on Poe (event at the Ransom Center in Austin, Texas)

Isaiah narrating “We Want Mark Twain,” by John Duffy, with the Cassatt String Quartet and Signe Mortensen:

Dreamers and Demons: The Three Worlds of Isaac Bashevis Singer, written by Isaiah Sheffer (the play was performed in Florida, Dallas, and the American Jewish Theatre in New York)

The Guide in The New York Times

The Event for the Week in the Dallas Observer

Isaiah speaking at a Symphony Space memorial for the writer Frank McCourt (the first couple of minutes are an audio of Frank himself reading from his book about teaching, and then Isaiah comes on):