Jo Sinclair
Jo Sinclair, born Ruth Seid on July 1, 1913, in Brooklyn, New York, was a notable American author and playwright known for her poignant explorations of family dynamics and psychological trauma. The daughter of Jewish Russian immigrants, she moved to Cleveland, Ohio, at a young age. Before dedicating herself to writing, Sinclair held various jobs including factory worker and publicity assistant for the American Red Cross. Her debut novel, *Wasteland*, published in 1946, won the Harper Prize and marked the beginning of her successful writing career.
Sinclair's works often address complex themes such as the struggles faced by women, family conflicts, and personal history's impact on identity. Her novel *The Changelings* received multiple accolades, including the Jewish Book Council of America fiction award. Sinclair's writing was characterized by its unflinching honesty, which sometimes made readers uncomfortable, reflecting the deeper societal issues of her time. Alongside her novels, she contributed to various magazines and wrote stage and radio plays. Sinclair's memoir, *The Seasons: Death and Transfiguration*, was published in 1993, two years before her passing from cancer, solidifying her legacy as a significant figure in American literature.
Subject Terms
Jo Sinclair
American novelist and playwright.
- Born: July 1, 1913
- Birthplace: Brooklyn, New York
- Died: April 4, 1995
- Place of death: Jenkintown, Pennsylvania
Biography
Jo Sinclair was the pseudonym of Ruth Seid, who was born in Brooklyn, New York, on July 1, 1913, the daughter of Jewish Russian immigrants Nathan Seid and Ida Kravetsky Seid. Sinclair and her family moved to Cleveland, Ohio, when she was three. After attending public school in Cleveland, she held several jobs between 1930 and 1942, including factory worker, saleswoman, ghostwriter, and trade magazine editor. She also worked for the Works Progress Administration. In 1942, she became assistant publicity director for the Cleveland office of the American Red Cross; this was Sinclair’s last job before she became a full-time writer in 1946, following publication of her debut novel Wasteland.
Wasteland won the coveted Harper Prize, and Sinclair went on to publish other award-winning books. Her novel The Changelings (1955) received the Jewish Book Council of America fiction award in 1956, the Ohioana Library best fiction award, and a Brotherwood Week Certificate of Recognition. Anna Teller (1960) won another Ohioana Library best fiction award in 1961. In addition, Sinclair won second place in a Fund for the Republic competition of scripts on the theme of civil liberties, and she was awarded the Literature Award of Cleveland Arts Prize in 1961.
Sinclair's unflinchingly honest novels—so honest, in fact, that they initially made some readers and critics uncomfortable—often dealt with family conflicts and psychological childhood traumas. Her novels are characterized by a complexity that involves the individual’s life and how it is affected by personal family history and the history of the times in which the individual lives. The plight of women also is a key issue in Sinclair’s novels, with women’s sexual denial leading them to redirect sexual energies into love of their children and sensual gratification.
Wasteland, her most famous novel, is a slight deviation from her normal themes, focusing on John Brown’s denial of his Judaism. Brown is a photographer and his self-destructive denial is affecting his work and his ability to honestly portray the people whom he photographs. His hatred and refusal to accept his Jewish heritage and thus his family are fully realized during a seder service held during Passover. The novel follows his psychoanalysis, soul-searching, and resulting self-awakening and maturation.
Sinclair also wrote stage and radio plays and contributed to numerous magazines, journals, and anthologies, including Saturday Evening Post, Collier’s, American Judaism, and Reader’s Digest. She composed a memoir, The Seasons: Death and Transfiguration, which appeared in 1993, two years before she died of cancer.
Author Works
Drama:
The Long Moment, pr. 1951
Long Fiction:
Wasteland, 1946
Sing at My Wake, 1951
The Changelings, 1955
Anna Teller, 1960
Nonfiction:
The Seasons: Death and Transfiguration, a Memoir, 1993
Bibliography
Horowitz, Sara R. "Jo Sinclair, 1913–1995." Jewish Women: A Comprehensive Historical Encyclopedia, Jewish Women's Archive, 20 Mar. 2009, jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/sinclair-jo. Accessed 28 June 2017. Discusses Sinclair's life and career, focusing on her struggles against poverty, anti-Semitism, and sexism, and how she used those themes in her writing.
Howe, Florence. "Working Class Consciousness in Jo Sinclair's 'The Seasons.'" Women's Studies Quarterly, vol. 23, no. 1–2, 1995, p. 101–7. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsggo&AN=edsgcl.17167703&site=eds-live. Accessed 28 June 2017. Examines the insights into working-class culture provided by Sinclair's memoir, including the influence of Helen Buchman in making Sinclair a working-class author.
"Seid, Ruth." Jewish Virtual Library, American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise, 2017, www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/seid-ruth. Accessed 28 June 2017. Provides a biographical overview on Sinclair, focusing on her Jewish identity and incorporation of religious, racial, and gender issues in her works.
Schmidt, Tyler T. "Damaged Desires: Jo Sinclair, Carl Offord, and the Traumas of Integration." Desegregating Desire : Race and Sexuality in Cold War American Literature, UP of Mississippi, 2013, p. 179–220. Examines the influence and depiction of integration efforts in the work of Sinclair and other Cold War–era American authors.
Shatzsky, Joel, and Michael Taub. Contemporary Jewish-American Novelists: A Bio-Critical Sourcebook. Greenwood Press, 1997. Includes an examination of Sinclair's life and works.