Remembering Philip Roth
Novelist Philip Roth passed away on May 22 at age 85. Throughout his prolific career, he focused on intense characters, a blur between fiction and reality, and sweeping themes of religion, morality, male sexuality, and American identity.
L-R: Philip Roth, James Fenton, and Darryl Pinckney attend the centennial celebration of The New York Public Library on May 23, 2011.
Philip Roth was named a Lion in both 1983 and 2000. Before 1997 it was called the Literary Lion award, and after that it changed to Library Lion. There are a few greats that were recognized twice.
Roth in Our Archives
Our Manuscripts and Archives Division has a selection of Philip Roth holdings, including typescripts and correspondence in the James Atlas collection of papers. The typescripts in this collection include essays, notes, and interviews with Roth; the correspondence includes letters to Atlas from Roth. The 50-year friendship betweenTed Solotaroff and Roth is preserved within the Ted Solotaroff papers.
Reading Roth
Roth leaves behind a complicated legacy, best explored through his work. The Library has hundreds of books by and about him, ranging from literary criticism and biographies to essays and story collections—and, of course, novels, which are a good starting place to explore his impact on the American literary scene.
Zuckerman Bound (repackaged and published together in 2007)
Portnoy's Complaint (1969)
The Great American Novel(1995)
The Plot Against America (2005)
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Have trouble reading standard print? Many of these titles are available in formats for patrons with print disabilities.
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