Robert Alter

Robert Alter is Class of 1937 Professor of Hebrew and Comparative Literature at the University of California at Berkeley, where he has taught since 1967. He is the author of 23 books on a range of topics from the Hebrew Bible to the European novel and modern Hebrew literature. Among his recent books are a translation of the Book of Psalms and a study of the representation of the modern city in the European novel, as well as Pen of Iron, featured in his Rorotoko interview. In 2009 Alter received the Robert Kirsch Award for lifetime contribution to American letters given by the Los Angeles Times.