Robert B. Silvers
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Robert B. Silvers (b. December 31, 1929 in Mineola, New York) is editor of The New York Review of Books. He was co-editor with Barbara Epstein for over 40 years until her death in June 2006. He also serves on the editorial committee of La Rivista dei Libri, the Italian language edition of the Review.[1]
Silvers has edited several essay anthologies, including Writing in America, Thirty Years of the New York Review, Hidden Histories of Science, India: A Mosaic, Striking Terror: America’s New War, and The Company they Kept: Writers on Unforgettable Friendships.[2][3] He has also edited a number of other books published by the Review.[4]
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[edit] Life and early career
Silvers grew up in Rockville Centre, New York, the son of James J. Silvers (1892 - 1986), a salesman and entrepreneur, and Rose Roden Silvers (1894 - 1979), one of the first female radio hosts for RCA. He graduated from the University of Chicago in 1947 and briefly attended Yale Law School.
Silvers worked as press secretary to then-Connecticut Governor Chester Bowles in 1950. He lived in Paris from 1952 to 1958, where he served with the U.S. Army at SHAPE Headquarters and attended the Sorbonne and Paris Institute of Political Studies (best known as Sciences Po), receiving its certificate. He joined the editorial board of The Paris Review in 1954 and became Paris editor in 1956. Prior to joining the NY Review, Silvers was, from 1959 to 1963, associate editor of Harper's magazine, editor of the book Writing in America and translator of La Gangrene, which describes the brutal torture of seven Algerian men by the Paris Security Police in 1958, shortly after Charles de Gaulle came to power.[5]
[edit] Honors and awards
The annual Robert B. Silvers lectures at the New York Public Library were established by Max Palevsky in 2002 and have been given by Joan Didion, J. M. Coetzee, Ian Buruma, Michael Kimmelman and Daniel Mendelsohn.
On November 15, 2006, Silvers received the National Book Foundation Literarian Award for Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community. With Barbara Epstein, he also received in 2006 the Award for "Distinguished Service to the Arts" from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
Among other honors, Silvers has been a member of the executive board of the PEN American Center and the American Academy in Rome, as well as a trustee of the New York Public Library. He is also a Chevalier of the French Légion d’honneur and a member of the French Ordre National du Mérite. In June 2007, Harvard University awarded him an honorary degree of Doctor of Letters.[2]
Silvers is also a member of the Council of Foreign Relations and the Century Association.
[edit] Notes
[edit] References
- Feature on the Review in the September 25, 2006 issue of New York Magazine
- Extensive biography of Silvers
- Extensive interview with Silvers
- Mr. Silvers, Will You Peek at My Books? article on Silvers from the New York Observer
[edit] External links
- Announcement of 2006 National Book Foundation Literarian Award for Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community
- Silvers' introduction to panel discussion entitled, "How have writers in the U.S. and abroad perceived the war and assessed its consequences?"
- Columbia Journalism Review on "Ten Best Editors"
- Selected bibliography of books and articles edited by Silvers
