Irene Jerison

e-mail: hjerison@ucla.edu

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

                I was born in Lodz, Poland.  I spent 4 1/2 years of World War II in the Lodz Ghetto and 6 months in concentration camps in Germany.  In late March, 1946, I came to London, where I rushed through a correspondence course and earned by examination a secondary education equivalency diploma (Matriculation Certificate) from the University of London.

                In late 1947 I came to the United States on a student visa.  I attended the University of South Dakota for three semesters and a summer session at the French language school at Middlebury College.  In 1949 I transferred to the University of Chicago, where I was granted an M.A. in Sociology, Phi Beta Kappa, in 1953.

                I married Harry J. Jerison, a biopsychologist, in 1950.  While raising my three children I worked as a non‑salaried community activist, with paid stints as research assistant and associate in sociology and psychology, creative writing teacher, public relations consultant writing and producing publications, and literary and technical translator from Polish, German, Russian, French and Italian in biological, social and physical sciences and in the philosophy of science.  I also wrote and published short stories as well as feature articles and study materials.

                My first short story, "The Season of the Hats," was published as an ATLANTIC MONTHLY First in 1960 and received an Honorable Mention in Martha Foley's BEST SHORT STORIES 1960.  A later story, "Though This Be Madness," entered in a UNESCO/PEN contest for writers in English whose first language was different, was awarded a reading in 1995 on the BBC World Service weekly Short Story Program.

                Since 1978 I have been freelancing full-time for publication, with emphasis on travel, and have numerous credits in newspapers and magazines.

                My book credits include updating and editing LOS ANGELES ‑‑ STRUCTURE OF A CITY, Third Edition, L.A. League of Women Voters, 1976; chapters, "The Netherlands and "Switzerland," in J. Follendore, Editor, FROM OUR IMMIGRANTS WITH LOVE, Racz Publishing, 1977; co‑editing with Harry J. Jerison and partly re‑translating from Russian to English of PALEONEUROLOGY by V.I. Kochetkova, Winston/Wiley, 1978; co‑editing with H.J. Jerison of INTELLIGENCE AND EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY, Springer Verlag, 1988; updating chapters on Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco in the 1990 and 1991 editions of BIRNBAUM UNITED STATES.  My translation of selected short stories by Zalman Vendrof, WHEN IT COMES TO LIVING, was published in 2004.