Hortense Calisher

From Philosopedia

Calisher, Hortense (1911— )

Calisher, who has taught at various universities and is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, is noted for stories she has written in which she interprets character. False Entry (1961), for example, is about a character known only by his pseudonym, Pierre Goodman, and his involvement in an Alabama trial, testifying against racists in the murder of a Negro. Asked about humanism, she responded to the present author as follows:

• Category? Writing, one hopes to ignore categories. (See Herself: An Autobiographical Memoir. “Category is the true crocodile.”)

• Humanist? A fine word. Works best when it collates with its immediate text.”

{WAS, 11 June 1992}