Logo

12 Facts About Irving Fiske

1.

Irving Fiske worked for the Federal Writers' Project of the Works Progress Administration in the 1930s, where he was a writer and rewrite man on The WPA Guide to New York City, in print today.

2.

Irving Fiske corresponded with George Bernard Shaw, wrote an article now considered a classic, "Bernard Shaw's Debt to William Blake," and translated Shakespeare's Hamlet into Modern English.

3.

Irving Fiske had two brothers, Milton and Robert, and a sister, Miriam.

4.

On January 8,1946, Irving Fiske married artist and cartoonist Barbara Hall, later Barbara Irving Fiske Calhoun.

5.

Irving Fiske joined Allen Ginsberg and Peter Orlovsky in a First Amendment-based defense of the Beat Generation coffee houses along Second Avenue in the East Village in 1964.

6.

Irving Fiske became well known around the Village, and was speaking to standing-room-only audiences.

7.

Irving Fiske spoke out in favor of people finding their own creative path in life, enjoying themselves, being free of guilt and shame, and children's rights.

8.

Irving Fiske wrote letters for young men who were conscientious objectors to the Vietnam War.

9.

Irving Fiske eventually got the permit and rebuilt the cabin.

10.

Irving Fiske died of a stroke in Ocala, Florida, on April 25,1990.

11.

Irving Fiske's centennial was celebrated in Vermont and in Florida in 2008.

12.

In 1947, Irving Fiske filed a lawsuit against Cary Grant and Alfred Hitchcock for infringing upon Hamlet in Modern English.