BOOKS/ART/CULTURE
POLICE STATE USA
A favorite novel begins with a terrified protagonist: “The footsteps—thick-sole, steel-toe heavy, no pretense at stealth—approached our floor from the wrong direction. On a Monday morning, most people left their apartments for work, shlepped their still-sleepy way down the stairs as Indira had earlier. The stomping that terrified me came up from the lobby. I…
Read MoreBALANCE, COSMIC AND EARTHLY
A good friend is disturbed by photos of the cosmos. What is a human being in the vast universe? Rabbi Simcha Bunim (1765-1827) addressed this. He exclaimed that everyone should have two pockets. One should hold a note declaiming, The world was made for me. The other should hold a note stating, I am but dust and ashes. We’re motes…
Read MoreWHEN IS IT TIME TO STEP ASIDE?
Getting old poses challenges. One: defining old. A second: knowing when to step aside. This quandary is evident in the historical play The Lehman Trilogy, closing in San Francisco this Sunday. Written by the Italian playwright Stefano Massini and translated into English by Mirella Cheeseman, The Lehman Trilogy, directed by Sam Mendes, opened in 2018 at London’s National Theatre.…
Read MoreA LIBRARIAN’S LOWDOWN
Libraries and book publishing find themselves in cultural and political firestorms. Opinion pieces in the New York Times and Wall Street Journal offer interesting takes. Neither was written by a librarian, so for added context, I called my friend Les Kozerowitz, who retired 15 years ago as director of the Norwalk, Connecticut public library. First, the Times piece, “Red…
Read MoreCHRISTMAS AND “SEX EDUCATION”
A British TV dramedy about high-school teens involved in endless sex ultimately reveals a lot about the challenges Christmas often poses. Carolyn and I just finished season four (the final) of Netflix’s Sex Education, starring Gillian Anderson and a wonderful cast. Each season starts with copious sex but soon segues into the subject of relationships with…
Read MoreMY WIFE AT BURNING MAN
My 75-year-old wife Carolyn returned from her fourth Burning Man. Shocked? Here’s the full picture. Carolyn—Playa name DramaQueen—loves the festival, which draws 60,000–70,000 people to the desert three hours north of Reno. She first went in 2018. She’d known about Burning Man since its early days at San Francisco’s Baker Beach. “Also, I’d been a…
Read MoreTWO FAREWELLS
Last Sunday, Carolyn and I bid two farewells. In only one case had someone died. That someone was Tina Turner, who died last May. We attended Tina: The Tina Turner Musical at the Golden Gate Theater. It provided an opportunity to say goodbye to a woman whose music, and pluck, topped the charts. Tina first opened in London’s…
Read MoreIOWA ’23, SOUTHIE ’74
Donald Trump was just indicted on four counts regarding attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. Yet he remains the heavy favorite for the Republican 2024 presidential nomination. A pollster and a novelist offer insights. On Tuesday, GOP pollster Frank Luntz told Dana Bash on CNN’s “Inside Politics” that conservative, faith-based Iowa voters “like Donald…
Read MoreMORE MANDALORIAN–JEWISH PARALLELS
Months ago, Disney+ hyped season 3 of the Star Wars-related “The Mandalorian.” A thousand people from 20 countries read my 2021 post, “The Mandalorian and the Jews.” Season 3’s Jewish connections were even stronger. “The Way” of the Mandalorians suggests Jewish law, Halacha—the way of going. Maimonides writes about the “way of the Lord” in his Mishneh Torah. The…
Read MoreMY APOLOGIES, TONY AWARDS
Last Sunday, Carolyn and I tuned in—late—to Broadway’s Tony Awards TV show. When the nominees for Best Play were announced, I was certain one show had no chance. Of the five nominees, Leopoldstadt, by Tom Stoppard, presented a multi-generational Jewish family’s experiences in Vienna from 1899 to 1955. These included discussing escape plans following Nazi Germany’s…
Read MoreANOTHER DANGEROUS BOOK
Some people believe that racism in the United States is dead. Others, it never really existed. Still others, if racism lives, mention of it divides Americans between oppressed and oppressors. The result? Books are being tossed off library shelves or censored before they get there. Take Love in the Library by Maggie Tokuda-Hall, illustrated by Yas Imamura,…
Read MoreTHE PAST MATTERS
I’ve often cited George Santayana about people ignoring the past being condemned to repeat it. I’ll add William Faulkner: the past isn’t dead—it’s not even the past. Let me offer two examples—one current, one ancient. Writing fiction, I’m drawn to the past. It offers perspective on issues the whirring present sometimes confuses. So, I set Flight…
Read More“FAUDA”—VIOLENCE AND HUMANITY
Spoiler alert: If you plan to watch season 4 of the Netflix series “Fauda,” stop reading. Otherwise, consider the humanity of this Israeli show that focuses on the never-ending violence in Israel and the West Bank. “Fauda” (Arabic for chaos) follows a special commando unit in the Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security force. These men and women are…
Read MoreCOLOR BOUND
Many literary publications charge writers a small submission fee to help cover expenses. These fees may pose a financial barrier to some writers, so a few publications waive them—if a writer fits a certain profile. Financial hardship doesn’t always factor in. One publication waives fees for Black, Asian-American-Pacific-Islander and LGBTQ writers during months that honor…
Read MoreWHY I (USUALLY) DON’T SAY “CAWFEE”
Decades ago, I theorized that something we give little thought to might impact racist attitudes—for bad or good. According to Katherine D. Kinzler, professor of psychology at the University of Chicago, I’ve been on to something. In her book How You Say It: Why We Judge Others by the Way They Talk—and the Costs of This…
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