A Remembrance of Jack Schwartzman
1912 - 2001

Nadine Stoner

[Reprinted from GroundSwell, 2001]

The family of the late Jack Schwartzman, who was the publisher and editor-in-chief of Fragments, will be honoring him with a commemorative issue. That will be the final issue of this long-lived (1963-2001) Georgist literary magazine. Those who knew Jack are invited to submit remembrances or tributes for inclusion in this final Fragments issue.

Your submissions for Fragments should be sent to Jack's eldest son, Steve, preferably by email to sunshine@austin.rr.com. They may also be mailed to Steve Schwartzman, Box 4351, Austin, TX 78765.

Jack Schwartzman, who had a heart condition, died in a Long Island hospital on Nov. 30. All three of his children, his only brother, Dr. Isadore Schwartzman, and both of his nieces were with him. Jack had spent Thanksgiving with his daughter, Marcia Levy and his grandchildren in Upper Montclair, New Jersey. Jack also had planned to spend New Year's with his son Steve in Texas, and already had his plane tickets, but it was not to be. His son Robert Schwartzman lives in Franklin Square, NY. He was predeceased by his wife, Vivian, who died in 1988.

Jack was born in the Russian province of Bessarabia, which is now part of the Ukraine. His 1966 essay, "Lilacs," was about his family's springtime flight from Russia. He was a 1938 student of Frank Chodorov at the Henry George School of New York. In 1940 he joined the HGS-NY faculty. He served in the US Army and during the war taught at the Henry George School in San Francisco.

In 1949 his book, Rebels of Individualism, whose title also described the author, was published. In 1985 he was elected a trustee of the Henry George Institute. Fragments was a long-time member of the Council of Georgist Organizations. Jack made presentations at the annual conferences sponsored by CoGO in Vancouver, BC in 1986, and in Evanston, IL in 1995, and in Ottawa, Ontario in 1996.

Besides his family, other close associates of Fragments who mourn Jack's passing are his companion and Fragments Circulation Manager Fannie De Noto and his Board of Editors Oscar Johannsen, Sydney Mayers, and Irving Starer.

Jack received his PhD degrees from Brooklyn College in law and from NY University in Economics. He taught English at Nassau Community College in Garden City, Long Island, NY, full-time until he was 80, retiring in 1992. This was despite efforts to retire him when he turned 65 by the teachers union and others.

Jack was a prolific author, and some of his articles, booklets, and presentations are listed in his biographical sketches on the School of Cooperative Individualism website.