Cynthia Ozick Biography | Author of The Shawl

The Shawl Author Biography

Cynthia Ozick was born on April I?, 1928, in New York City. Her parents, William and Celia (Regelson) Ozick, had come to the United States from north­western Russia. In addition to his work as a pharma­cist, William was a Jewish scholar. Ozick considers herself a feminist and claims she became one at the age of five, when her grandmother took her to heder, a school for the study of Hebrew and the Torah. The rabbi told Ozick's grandmother to take her home, since" a girl doesn't have to study." Ozick returned the next day and quickly established herself as a good student.

She continued her education at Hunter College High School, then at New York University, from which she graduated in 1949 with a B.A. in English. She received an M.A. in English from Ohio State University in 1950.

Throughout the 1950s, Ozick worked as an advertising copywriter...
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