Lore Segal facts for kids

Lore Segal (born Lore Groszmann) was an amazing writer from Austria and America. She wrote novels, short stories, and even books for kids! She also taught writing and translated other books. One of her novels, Shakespeare's Kitchen, was even considered for a big award called the Pulitzer Prize in 2008.

Early Life and Moving to a New Home

Lore Vailer Groszmann was born on March 8, 1928, in Vienna, Austria. She grew up in a Jewish family. Her dad, Ignatz, worked as a chief accountant at a bank, and her mom, Franzi, was a housewife.

When Adolf Hitler took over Austria in 1938, Lore's family faced danger because they were Jewish. Her father quickly put their names on a list to move to America. In December of that year, Lore joined many other Jewish children on a special rescue mission called the Kindertransport. This mission helped children find safety in England.

While living with her foster parents in England, Lore found a purple notebook. She started writing in it, filling 36 pages with stories in German. This was the very beginning of a novel she would later write in English, called Other People's Houses.

On her eleventh birthday, Lore's parents finally arrived in England. They came on a special visa for domestic servants. Even though he was a refugee, Lore's father was seen as a "German-speaking alien" and was sent to live on the Isle of Man. There, he became very sick and sadly passed away just before World War II ended.

After her father's death, Lore and her mother moved to London. Lore earned a scholarship to study English literature at Bedford College for Women at the University of London. She graduated in 1948 with honors.

In 1951, Lore and her mother spent three years in the Dominican Republic. They were waiting for their permit to enter the United States. Once they got it, they moved to Washington Heights, New York City. They shared a small apartment with Lore's grandmother and uncle.

In 1961, Lore married David Segal, who worked as an editor at a publishing company called Knopf.

Lore Segal's Writing Career

Lore Segal taught writing for many years. From 1968 to 1996, she taught at famous universities like Columbia University, Princeton, and Ohio State University. She retired from teaching in 1996 but continued to teach at the 92 Y.

First Novels and Important Stories

Lore published her first novel, Other People's Houses, in 1964. People loved it! This book was based on her own experiences as a refugee. She collected stories she had written for The New Yorker magazine and added more. The book tells about her time growing up in five different English homes, from rich families to working-class ones.

In 1985, Lore's third novel, Her First American, came out. The New York Times newspaper praised it, saying it might be "The Great American Novel." The story is about Ilka Weissnix, a Jewish refugee from Europe, and her friendship with Carter Bayoux, a smart Black man. Lore based Carter Bayoux on her real-life friend, Horace R. Cayton, Jr.. She even won an award for this novel from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

Award-Winning Books

Shakespeare's Kitchen, published in 2007, was a finalist for the famous Pulitzer Prize. This novel is made up of thirteen stories about people who work at a research center called the Concordance Institute in Connecticut.

Her last novel, Half the Kingdom, was published in October 2013.

Lore Segal once said that she wanted to write about things that are "permanent." She meant the feelings and experiences that all humans share, no matter when or where they live. Her novels often explore what it's like to fit in and make a new country your home, especially for refugees.

Lore kept writing until the very end of her life. She wrote short stories for The New Yorker magazine, with her last one published online just eight days before she passed away.

Lore Segal's Family and Later Life

Lore Segal and her husband, David, were married for nine years. Sadly, David passed away from a heart attack in 1970 when he was only 42 years old. They had two children together.

Lore and her mother, Franzi Groszmann, appeared in two films about the Kindertransport. These films were My Knees Were Jumping; Remembering the Kindertransports (1996) and Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport (2001). The second film even won an Academy Award for Documentary Feature! Lore's mother, Franzi, was the last surviving parent who had sent her child on the Kindertransport program. Franzi lived to be one hundred years old, passing away in 2005.

Lore Segal lived in Manhattan in New York City. After a heart attack in June 2024, she received special care at home. She passed away there on October 7, 2024, at the age of 96.

Lore Segal's Works

Novels

• Other People's Houses (1964)
• Lucinella (1976)
• Her First American (1985)
• Shakespeare's Kitchen (2007)
• Half The Kingdom (2013)

Short Stories

• "Burglars in the Flesh" (1980)
• "A Wedding" (1981)
• "The First American" (1983)
• "An Absence of Cousins" (1987)
• "The Reverse Bug" (1989)
• "At Whom the Dog Barks" (1990)
• "William's Shoes" (1991)
• "Fatal Wish" (1991)
• "Other People's Deaths" (2006)
• "The Arbus Factor" (2007)
• "Making Good" (2008)
• "Spry for Frying" (2011)
• "Ladies' Lunch" (2017)

Translations

• Gallows Songs of Christian Morgenstern (1967)
• The Juniper Tree and Other Tales from Grimm (1973) (Illustrated by Maurice Sendak)
• The Book of Adam to Moses (1987)
• The Story of King Saul and King David (1991)

Children's Books

• Tell Me a Mitzi (1970)
• All the Way Home (1973)
• Tell Me a Trudy (1977)
• The Story of Old Mrs. Brubeck and How She Looked for Trouble and Where She Found Him (1981)
• The Story of Mrs. Lovewright and Purrless Her Cat (1985) (Illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky)
• Morris the Artist (2003)
• Why Mole Shouted and Other Stories (2004)
• More Mole Stories and Little Gopher, Too (2005)

Awards and Honors

Lore Segal received many awards for her writing, including:

• Dorothy & Lewis B. Cullman Center for Scholars Fellowship (2008)
• Pulitzer Prize Finalist for Shakespeare's Kitchen (2008)
• PEN/ O. Henry Prize Story for "Making Good" (2008)
• Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2006)
• Best American Short Stories for "The Reverse Bug" (1989)
• The O. Henry Awards Prize Story for "The Reverse Bug" (1990)
• National Endowment for the Arts, Grant in Fiction (1987–1988, 1972–1973)
• American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters Award (1986)
• Harold U. Ribalow Prize (1986)
• Carl Sandburg Award for Fiction (1985)
• American Library Association Notable Book selection for Tell Me a Mitzi (1970)
• Guggenheim Fellowship (1965–1966)

See also

In Spanish: Lore Segal para niños