The 92nd Street Y, a cultural pillar of New York City, has released from its audio archive another little gem – Saul Bellow reading from his 1975 novel Humboldt’s Gift, which won the 1976 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and contributed to Bellow’s Nobel Prize in Literature.
Bellow’s reading (access it via iTunes, RSS, or the mp3 player below) runs 11 minutes, and it sits nicely alongside two other 92nd Street Y recordings – Truman Capote reading from Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1963) and William Carlos Williams reading selected poems in 1954. We featured both items in our popular post, 45 Great Cultural Icons Revisited.
Audio: Saul Bellow Reads Humboldt’s Gift (mp3)
It has been years since I read Humboldt’ Gift. I remember adoring it, thinking it was the best thing I had ever read. To hear Saul Bellow reading from the book, is a gift to the universe.