Isaac Bashevis Singer was born in 1902 in Poland and emigrated to the United States in 1935. Publishing at least 18 novels, 14 children's books, and a number of memoirs, essays and articles, he is best known for his short stories. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1978. For the last 35 years of his life, Singer was a proud and vocal vegetarian, and he often included the themes of vegetarianism and animal suffering in his works. In his short story, "The Slaughterer," which I read today, he describes the anguish that an appointed ritual slaughterer has trying to reconcile his compassion for animals with his job of slaughtering animals. It's a powerful and harrowing story.