Lee Siegel (professor and novelist)
Encyclopedia
Lee A. Siegel is a novelist and professor of religion at the University of Hawaii at Manoa
. His 1999 novel, Love in a Dead Language, was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year and a bestseller in India
. It was also nominated for a Pulitzer Prize
.
and fine arts at Columbia University
. He received his D.Phil. from the University of Oxford
for a dissertation in the field of Sanskrit
. He then was hired by the University of Hawaii as Professor of Religious Studies, where he has taught ever since.
In 1988 Siegel was a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
Fellow
. He has received numerous fellowships and grants including five Senior Research Fellowships from the American Institute of Indian Studies and the Smithsonian Institution
(1979, 1983, 1987, 1991, 1996), four research grants from the American Council of Learned Societies and the Social Science Research Council (1982, 1985, 1987, 1990) and one from the Center for Asian and Pacific Studies. In addition Professor Siegel has been two Presidential Awards for Excellence in Teaching (1986 and 1996). He has been a scholar-in-residence at the Rockefeller Foundation
, and twice at the Bellagio Study Center (1990 and 2003). He also was a Visiting Fellow at All Souls College of Oxford University (1997).
His two sons are Dmitri and film actor Sebastian Sebastian Siegel.
His novels are:
University of Hawaii at Manoa
The University of Hawaii at Mānoa is a public, co-educational university and is the flagship campus of the greater University of Hawaii system...
. His 1999 novel, Love in a Dead Language, was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year and a bestseller in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. It was also nominated for a Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
.
Life and career
Siegel studied comparative literature at the University of California, BerkeleyUniversity of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
and fine arts at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
. He received his D.Phil. from the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
for a dissertation in the field of Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
. He then was hired by the University of Hawaii as Professor of Religious Studies, where he has taught ever since.
In 1988 Siegel was a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation was founded in 1925 by Mr. and Mrs. Simon Guggenheim in memory of their son, who died April 26, 1922...
Fellow
Fellow
A fellow in the broadest sense is someone who is an equal or a comrade. The term fellow is also used to describe a person, particularly by those in the upper social classes. It is most often used in an academic context: a fellow is often part of an elite group of learned people who are awarded...
. He has received numerous fellowships and grants including five Senior Research Fellowships from the American Institute of Indian Studies and the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
(1979, 1983, 1987, 1991, 1996), four research grants from the American Council of Learned Societies and the Social Science Research Council (1982, 1985, 1987, 1990) and one from the Center for Asian and Pacific Studies. In addition Professor Siegel has been two Presidential Awards for Excellence in Teaching (1986 and 1996). He has been a scholar-in-residence at the Rockefeller Foundation
Rockefeller Foundation
The Rockefeller Foundation is a prominent philanthropic organization and private foundation based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The preeminent institution established by the six-generation Rockefeller family, it was founded by John D. Rockefeller , along with his son John D. Rockefeller, Jr...
, and twice at the Bellagio Study Center (1990 and 2003). He also was a Visiting Fellow at All Souls College of Oxford University (1997).
His two sons are Dmitri and film actor Sebastian Sebastian Siegel.
Scholarly works
From 1978 until the late 1990s, Siegel published scholarly studies of Indian love poetry, comedy, horror, and magic. These books include:- Sacred and Profane Dimensions of Love in Indian Traditions as Exemplified in the Gitagovinda of Jayadeva (Oxford University South Asian Studies Series)(1978)
- Dream-symbolism in the sr amanic tradition: two psychoanalytical studies in Jinist and Buddhist dream legends (with Jagdish P. Sharma) (1980)
- Fires of Love, Waters of Peace in Indian Culture (1983)
- Laughing Matters. Comic Tradition in India (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1987) ISBN 9780226756912
- Net of Magic. Wonders and Deceptions in India (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1991) ISBN 9780226756875
- City of Dreadful Night. A Story about Horror and the Macabre in India (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1995) ISBN 9780226756899
Novels
In 1999, Siegel published his first novel, Love in a Dead Language. It was named the New York Times Notable Book of the Year.His novels are:
- Love in a Dead Language: A Romance (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1999) ISBN 9780226756998. Read an excerpt.
- Love and Other Games of Chance: A Novelty (2003)
- Who Wrote the Book of Love? A Chronicle of the Sexual Life of an American Boy in the 1950s (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2005) ISBN 9780226757001. Read an excerpt.
- Love and the Incredibly Old Man: A Novel (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2008) ISBN 9780226757056. Read an excerpt.