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Irving Fineman / Ned Weinshenker Collection

An inventory of the collection at Syracuse University


Finding aid created by: KD
Date: 8 Jan 2019

Biographical History

Irving Fineman (1893-1976) was a Jewish-American novelist and author.

Born in New York City, he earned degrees in civil engineering from both the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard in 1917. Following a term in the U.S. Navy as an engineer officer (1918-1922), he returned to civil engineering, working in the field designing and constructing bridges, subways, etc and also teaching theoretical and applied mechanics at the University of Illinois.

In 1928 he began work on his first novel, This Pure Young Man, which won a $7500 prize in 1930. By 1932 he was at work on his second novel and had taken a teaching position at Bennington University in Bennington, Vermont. In the late 1930s Fineman spent a year or two in Hollywood writing for several studios. He served as editorial consultant for the RAND Corporation in 1957 and spent a year as scholar in residence at Duke University (1965-1966).

In addition to seven novels and a biography of Henrietta Szold, the founder of Hadassah, Fineman published short stories, poems, and literary criticism in literary and general interest magazines such as Nation, Harper's, Yale Review, New Yorker, New York Times, Saturday Review, and the Los Angeles Times.

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Irving Fineman / Ned Weinshenker Collection consists of clippings, correspondence, photographs, and writings.

Clippings consists of articles by or about Fineman.

Correspondence consists of personal correspondence from Fineman (and some including his wife, Esther) spanning from 1929 to 1973 and undated. Recipients include Rosalind (various spellings), Dot, and Ben Waxelbaum.

Photographs are mostly of Fineman. Some photos are of Leon Fineman, Rosalind and Dot Waxelbaum, and other family members.

Writings consists of poems by Fineman.

Arrangement of the Collection

Clippings are arranged chronologically with undated material at the end of the folder. Correspondence is arranged chronologically with undated material at the end of the folder. Photographs are in no particular order. Writings are arranged alphabetically by title with untitled material at the end of the folder.

Restrictions

Access Restrictions:

The majority of our archival and manuscript collections are housed offsite and require advanced notice for retrieval. Researchers are encouraged to contact us in advance concerning the collection material they wish to access for their research.

Use Restrictions:

Written permission must be obtained from SCRC and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.

Related Material

See also the Irving Fineman Papers.

Subject Headings

Persons

Fineman, Irving, 1893-1976.

Subjects

American literature -- 20th century.
American literature -- Jewish authors.
Authors, American.
Jews, American.
Novelists, American.

Genres and Forms

Clippings (information artifacts)
Correspondence.
Photographs.
Poems.

Occupations

Authors.
Novelists.
Poets.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Irving Fineman / Ned Weinshenker Collection
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Gift of Ned Weinshenker, 2018.

Table of Contents

Clippings

Correspondence

Photographs

Writings

Inventory