MARTIN GREENBERG

1918 - 2021

GREENBERG--Martin. 1918-2021. Martin died peacefully, surrounded by love on May 19th at his home in Brooklyn, NY, which he had shared with his wife of 55 years, the author Paula Fox (1923-2017), since 1970. Martin was born in Norfolk, Virginia and raised in Brooklyn. He was the youngest of three brothers, Clement Greenberg, the art critic (1909-1994), and Sol Greenberg (1913-1988). Martin was a loving older brother to his half-sister Natalie Greenberg Stern (1929-2007). Earning a BA from the University of Michigan, cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa in 1938, Martin served in World War II from 1941 to 1945, becoming a staff sergeant. After bearing witness to the fall of Nazi Germany, Martin returned home to become an editor at several esteemed publications: Schocken Books; American Mercury; Commentary Magazine. In 1962 Martin received a Guggenheim Fellowship to write what would become his highly praised book, "Kafka, The Terror of Art" (1968). Other books include "The Hamlet Vocation of Coleridge and Wordsworth" (1986) and translations from the German of "The Diaries of Franz Kafka 1914-1923" (1949); "The Marquise of O & Other Stories" (1960) and "Five Plays" (1988), both by H. von Kleist; and "Faust Parts One & Two" (1992,1998) by Goethe. Martin also published many articles and reviews in several publications including Commentary, Partisan Review, New York Times Book Review, New Criterion and Yale Review. In addition to his Guggenheim Fellowship, Martin received the Harold Morton Landon Verse Translation Award from the Academy of American Poets, 1989 and a citation from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters for "versatility, skill and probity" as both critic and translator. Martin taught at the New School from 1961 to 1968 and was a professor of English Literature at C.W. Post College for 25 years, before retiring in 1988. Martin is survived by all these loving people who were so important to him: his son David Greenberg (Emily Sorkin); his grandaughter Sarah Greenberg (Oded Burger); his grandson Alexander Greenberg; his stepson Adam Sigerson (Ann Compton); his stepdaughter Linda Carroll (Tim Barraud); his nephew Mitchell Stern; his niece Sarah Greenberg Morse (Matthew Morse); his daughter-in-law Polly Rogers; his devoted caregiver Esardai "Rocky" Shiwram; and his six step-grandchildren: Jennifer Sigerson, Andrew Sigerson, Nicole Sievers, Jaimee King, Daniel Menely, Tobias Menely. A service for both Martin and for Paula Fox is planned for 5pm June 27th, at The First Unitarian Congregational Society in Brooklyn, at119 Pierrepont Street. To RSVP please email lindacarroll44@gmail.com">lindacarroll44@gmail.com">lindacarroll44@gmail.com">lindacarroll44@gmail.com