The Joseph Sherman
Legacy Project

Joseph Sherman

5 March 1944 - 20 March 2009

 

Joseph Sherman was an exceptional scholar and educator, writer and translator, producer and performer.   Brilliant, charismatic and creative, he inspired countless colleagues and students, and enriched culture and discourse across a wide range of communities.

 

As a young graduate of Wits University in the mid-1960s, Joe revolutionized the teaching of language and literature (and the practice of debating) as head of English for a decade at King Edward VII School in Johannesburg, and for several years at King David High School Victory Park, where he also served as Vice-Principal. 

 

He then served in the Wits English Department for over two decades as a lecturer and later Associate Professor, applying his incisive mind and razor-sharp wit to his unforgettable classes, publications and dramatic productions.  

 

He also worked tirelessly to preserve and promote Yiddish literature, which he viewed as reflective of critically important cultural and human values.

 

In 2002 he moved to Oxford University as head of Yiddish studies, earning international renown as a preeminent authority in this field.     

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This project seeks to recognise and sustain Joe’s legacy by

• presenting his work,

• gathering memories of him, and

• promoting The Joseph Sherman Award.

 

Geoffrey Chaucer, whose work Joe brought to life for his students, provides a fitting description of him:

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Of studie took he moost cure and moost heede.

Noght o word spak he moore than was neede,

And that was seyd in forme and reverence,

And short and quyk, and ful of hy sentence;

Sownynge in moral vertu was his speche,

And gladly wolde he lerne, and gladly teche.

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