Eli N Evans was into philanthropy but his three books on Jews made all the difference in the world. he dug deep into the Jews of the American south and wrote in detail about them. he has breathed his last on July 26 in Manhatten at age 85.
Eli was a victim of covid and his son and only family left in the world Joshua Evans confirmed this to the media. he died in a hospital because no one at home was there to take care of him.
Evans was an extremely smart writer. he had a yale law degree and for some time he wrote speeches for the white house. he was one of the people who came from southern parts who were well read and knew the art and culture very well. one of the other big names of that time was Willie Morris, the Mississippi-born editor of Harper’s Magazine, Willie Morris, the Mississippi-born editor of Harper’s Magazine,
Eli became the president of the philanthropic Charles H. Revson Foundation. he was a combination of elite cosmopolitan views and deeply rooted southern values. he grew up in the tobacco field.
Author, Eli N. Evans and his first book about southern Jews was coincident:
the idea of writing a book about southern Jews came from a long discussion over brunch and stories about the same. his family is heavily pictured in his books and he could have won easily a booker prize for his work.
he had an assignment “The Provincials: A Personal History of the Jews of the South.” which was so deeply intriguing for people in that region because they were unaware of southern Jews culture and customs. the assignment was turned into a book and that also inspired him to write two more books.
Eli in his book revealed Jews came as factory workers, and farm workers and they came to different parts of the US.
Author, Eli N. Evans was not the first author to write about southern jews:
there were other scholars who wrote about rabbis, Jews, and historical religion before Eli but Eli’s work became popular with the masses, and how he made history look so fun to read.
“I am one of those people who, when they read ‘Provincials,’ they felt for the first time a recognition,” w“They had never seen their experience of Jewish life reflected this way.”
Marcie Cohen Ferris, a professor of American studies at the University of North Carolina also born and raised in Kansas told in an interview.
Mr. Evans title was very clever.
“Jews were not aliens in the Promised Land, but a blood-and-bones part of the South,” he shared.
“Eli really showed the way; he opened the door for a new generation of Southern Jewish writers,” Roy Hoffman, a novelist understood the groundbreaking work by Eli.
Read More – Vin Scully the Dodger voice and broadcaster for 7 decades dies at the age of 94.