Israeli writer S. Y. Agnon. co-winner of the 1966 Nobel Prize for Literature, was hospitalized yesterday after he collapsed in his home here. He was found on the floor when police were summoned by neighbors and relatives who noticed his house was too quiet. He is reported in serious condition and has been given oxygen. He will be 81 July 18 and has lived in Israel 60 years.
Born in Galicia, Mr. Agnon has lived in Jerusalem since 1924, when he moved to the then remote Talpiot section. Writing in Hebrew, his works range from stories of Polish pogroms 300 years ago to modern life in Israel, although he is considered more of a Jewish writer than an Israeli writer.
Some of his works, including “Two Gates” and “In the Heart of the Seas,” have been translated into English as well as 15 other languages. Many of his stories concern life in Jaffa just before World War I in Jerusalem following World War II. He was twice nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature before he was announced the joint winner of the prize, with Sweden’s poetess, Nelly Sachs, on Oct. 20, 1966. A descendant of a line of Talmudic scholars, Mr. Agnon is well versed in Judaistic lore and religion. He published his first verses in Hebrew and Yiddish when he was 15. His works are considered classics in Israel.
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