TOM PARKER, I OWE YOU

An ancient Jewish saying goes, “Acquire a teacher and make yourself a friend.” Tom Parker was both. Tom Trebitsch Parker died last month at 82. Trebitsch was the family name in Austria, changed after Tom’s parents fled Nazi persecution of Jews. Tom was an accomplished writer of fiction, including the novels “Small Business” and “Anna,…

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THE SMALL THINGS

This Thursday, Americans will consume meals that leave us more stuffed than our turkeys. Hopefully, many will actually give thanks for the big things in their lives. Me? I’ve been lucky. But I’ll also give thanks for the little things. Admittedly, I’m boring. (Read “The Least Interesting Man in the World.”) My day starts with…

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CONFESSIONS OF A CULTURE CRIMINAL

Last September, I wrote about “cultural appropriation” in “Let the Book Burning Begin.” Some attendees at a literary festival in Australia excoriated the novelist Lionel Shriver for advocating that “white” writers should be free to create characters of other ethnicities. They can also excoriate me! My novel Slick! (one of Kirkus Reviews’ 25 Best Indy…

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