Litwak, Leo
May 28, 1924 –
Place of Birth: Detroit, MI
Place of Principle Residence: San Francisco, CA
Biography:
Leo Litwak was born to Bessie and Issac (a labor leader) in 1924 at Detroit, MI. He attended the University of Michigan before serving in the infantry in Europe during WWII. He completed his B.A. at Wayne State University in 1948 and went on to graduate study at Columbia University between 1948 and 1951. Litwak first worked as an Instructor of Philosophy at Washington University between 1951 to 1960 before moving to San Francisco State University and becoming a Professor of literature and creative writing, where he remains today. His first book To the Hanging Gardens was published in 1964 followed by Waiting for the News, which won the National Jewish Book Award. Litwak lives in San Francisco and has one daughter, Jessica.
Selected Works:
- To the Hanging Gardens (1964)
- Waiting for the News (1969)
- College Days in Earthquake Country: Ordeal at San Francisco State (1971)
- Medic: Life and Death in the Last Days of World War II (2001)
Awards:
- 1959 Longview Foundation Award
- 1969 Edward Lewis Wailan Memorial Book Award
- 1970 Award, Jewish Book Council of the National Jewish Welfare Board
- 1970 Guggenheim Fellowship
- 1970 Daroff Memorial Prize
Critical Reception:
For The Medic:
“A terse, vivid, occasionally funny, quietly ironic, often brutal narrative ... An unflinching portrait of the times.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“A book for the generations. In lean, quick, and ultimately eloquent prose Leo Litwak tells the truth about WWII. He speaks with a young man’s
toughness about events as they were.”
—Earl Shorris, author of Latinos and New American Blues
“Litwak’s timing is compelling, his characters are vivid, memorable, and real, and his story is laced with humor and insight.”
—Molly Giles, author of Iron Shoes and Rough Translations
“A “brutal and yet frequently uplifting saga of war… There are no ‘good guys’ or ‘bad guys’ here, although the presence of both good and evil is
constant. Instead, we witness ordinary men, most of them quite young, striving to survive a conflict that few of them understand… A disturbing,
revealing, and very important glimpse of warfare.”
– Booklist
Relevance of Place to Author’s Work:
Litwak attended the University of Michigan before joining the infantry in the US army during WWII.