Vivian Perlstein Folkenflik (August 21, 1940 – October 28, 2023) was an American educator and translator; she was a lecturer at the University of California, Irvine, and translated works from French, by writers Germaine de Staël and others.

Vivian Folkenflik
Born
Vivian Perlstein

August 21, 1940
Brooklyn, New York City, U.S.
DiedOctober 28, 2023 (aged 83)
Occupation(s)Educator, translator
Children2, including David Folkenflik

Early life and education edit

Perlstein was born in Brooklyn, New York City, the daughter of Jacob Perlstein and Natalie Brettschneider Perlstein. Her family was Jewish; her father was a cardiologist and her mother was a school librarian. She graduated from James Madison High School in 1957,[1] and from Radcliffe College. She traveled in Europe in 1958.[2] She earned a master's degree in French literature at Cornell University, and was working on a doctorate when she married a fellow graduate student in 1965.[3][4]

Career edit

Folkenflik translated into English several works by French writers, including Germaine de Staël, Jacqueline Chénieux-Gendron, and Anne-Gédéon de La Fitte, Marquis de Pelleport. She taught humanities courses at the University of California, Irvine, where her husband was a professor of English.[5] She retired from UCI in 2012.[6]

Publications edit

  • "Vision and Truth: Baroque Art Metaphors in Guzmán de Alfarache" (1973)[7]
  • "Words and Language in Father and Son" (1979, with Robert Folkenflik)[8]
  • An Extraordinary Woman: Selected Writings of Germaine de Staël (1987, introduction)[9]
  • Chénieux-Gendron, Surrealism (1990, translator)[10]
  • Major Writings of Germaine De Stael (1992, translator)
  • Pelleport, The Bohemians (2011, translator)[11]

Personal life edit

Perlstein married Robert Folkenflik in 1965.[4] They had two children, Nora and David, and lived in Laguna Beach, California for most of their lives together.[12] Her daughter died in 1995, and her husband died in 2019.[13] She died in 2023, at the age of 83, after she was struck by a truck outside her home in Montclair, New Jersey.[5][14]

References edit

  1. ^ James Madison High School, Log '57 (1957 yearbook): 118. via Ancestry.
  2. ^ "European Holiday". Daily News. 1958-07-08. p. 57. Retrieved 2023-12-05 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ Folkenflik, David; Lupton, Julia. "In Memoriam: Remembering Vivian Folkenflik (1940-2023)". UCI School of Humanities. Retrieved 2023-12-05.
  4. ^ a b "Perlstein Sisters In Double Wedding". The New York Times. March 29, 1965. p. 40. Retrieved 2023-12-05.
  5. ^ a b Pineda, Dorany (2023-11-06). "Vivian Folkenflik, UC Irvine lecturer who taught thousands of students, dies at 83". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2023-12-05.
  6. ^ "Emeriti Faculty". UCI School of Humanities. Retrieved 2023-12-05.
  7. ^ Folkenflik, Vivian (1973). "Vision and Truth: Baroque Art Metaphors in Guzmán de Alfarache". MLN. 88 (2): 347–355. doi:10.2307/2907520. ISSN 0026-7910. JSTOR 2907520.
  8. ^ Vivian Folkenflik; Robert Folkenflik (1979). "Words and Language in Father and Son". Biography. 2 (2): 158–174. doi:10.1353/bio.2010.0881. ISSN 1529-1456.
  9. ^ Staël, Germaine de (1987-08-18). An Extraordinary Woman: Selected Writings of Germaine de Staël. Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-51318-0.
  10. ^ Chénieux-Gendron, Jacqueline (1990). Surrealism. Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-06811-6.
  11. ^ Pelleport, Anne Gédéon Lafitte, Marquis de (2011-07-07). The Bohemians. University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 978-0-8122-0370-7.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  12. ^ Levine, Cecilia (2023-11-04). "NPR Reporter Pens Tribute To 'Remarkable' Mom Killed By Pickup In Montclair". Essex Daily Voice. Retrieved 2023-12-05.
  13. ^ "Robert Folkenflik, UCI professor emeritus of English and literary scholar, dies at 80". UCI School of Humanities. Retrieved 2023-12-06.
  14. ^ Morel, Kyle. "83-year-old Montclair woman struck and killed on busy street". North Jersey Media Group. Retrieved 2023-12-05.