Welcome to the Forward’s coverage of Jewish culture. Here, you’ll learn about the latest (and sometimes earliest) in Jewish art, music, film, theater, books as well as the secret Jewish history of everything and everyone from The Rolling Stones to…
Culture
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That time Yiddishists met extraterrestrials a short while ago in a galaxy not far away
It was a normal summer internship at the Yiddish Book Center ... until the Jedi invaded our turf
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Treasure in Cuban Ruins
Ruins By Achy Obejas *Akashic Books, 205 pages, $15.95. * In 1994, more than 100,000 Cubans fled the island on improvised boats, abandoning their homeland, and 35 years of revolution, to seek a better future. Cuban-born poet, journalist, and novelist Achy Obejas sets her new novel, “Ruins,” in Havana during that exodus, but focuses on…
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Polishing Up the Bakery
Leave it to food to bring out the best in you! My appeal three weeks ago for information about ponchkes has so far brought no fewer than 28 responses, and more are still arriving. Here’s what I’ve discovered so far. First, a response from food columnist Mimi Sheraton: “Ponchkes, yes indeed. They are Polish and…
The Latest
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Not Even the Rhinos Were Nymphos
Three Balconies: Stories and a Novella By Bruce Jay Friedman *Biblioasis, 203 pages, $24.95. * Beginning in the 1960s, Bruce Jay Friedman’s literary star burned hot and bright — acclaimed novels, plays, short stories, screenplays — only to dim after his screenplay for “Splash” was nominated for an Oscar 25 years ago. Although “Even the…
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Honoring Partisans in Captions
‘That’s not Tuvia Bielski — that’s my dad!” Mark Werner thought while reading the Forward’s article “Bielskis vs. Hollywood” in the January 2 issue. Or perhaps he just thought, “Oh no, not again.” In 1964, when the Forward first published the photograph to illustrate an article commemorating Yom HaShoah, there was no documentation about the…
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A Klassy Novel
A Novel of Klass By Curt Leviant Livingston Press (The University of West Alabama), 330 pages, $16.95. Some of Curt Leviant’s earlier novels have been likened to efforts by such foreign literary giants as Borges, Kafka and Calvino. His latest work, “A Novel of Klass,” suggests the influence of more domestic sources, including the Marx…
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February 6, 2009
100 Years Ago In the Forward “Don’t pay rent, be your own landlord,” a banner advertisement screams. “A rare chance for anyone who has just a bit of capital to have a beautiful, quality and comfortable home in the most beautiful and best section of East New York, just 25 minutes from Delancey Street. Handsome…
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A Voice for Jews of Color
Growing up in an Orthodox household in Brooklyn and attending religious schools, Yavilah McCoy, the daughter of two Jewish converts, identified strongly with Judaism. But because she is black, her religious authenticity was sometimes called into question. McCoy recalls that when people became comfortable enough with her, they would use a derogatory term for black…
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György Kurtág: Great Hungarian Jewish Composer, No Monk
Music generally eludes accurate verbal descriptions, but rarely as often as in the case of 82-year-old Hungarian Jewish composer György Kurtág. On February 1, Kurtag will perform a recital of his piano music with his wife, Márta, at Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall. (At that same venue, a day earlier, Peter Eötvös will conduct a concert…
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Humor and Terror: A Conversation Between Marcelo Birmajer and Ilan Stavans
At the most recent San Francisco Jewish Book Fair, the Argentinean Jewish novelist Marcelo Birmajer, author of the recently translated novel “The Three Musketeers” (The Toby Press, 2008) — and deemed “the Woody Allen of the Pampas” by The New York Times — spoke to Mexican-American Jewish scholar Ilan Stavans, author of, most recently, “Resurrecting…
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Balancing Act
Lisa Appel spends more time standing on her head than most Jewish educators spend on their feet. The classroom veteran with an affinity for Hebrew songs also spins more plates and juggles more scarves than her colleagues, and she’s more likely to teach in sparkly attire and a bright-pink wig. In other words, Appel is…
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Truth Seekers: The Pursuit of Math
At the age of 25, most New Yorkers would think twice before spending $500 a month to finance an informal school of mathematics, especially in these times of economic uncertainty. But in mathematical terms, Avital Oliver would be called a statistical outlier. After deciding that he needed time away from academia, yet still finding himself…
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Opinion Mike Huckabee’s stunning, terrifying new gift to the Israeli right
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Culture A new exhibit on Red Scare blacklists presents chilling parallels to our current era
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Fast Forward 24 hours of war leaves Israel reeling, with bomb shelters full and flights canceled
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Fast Forward In US lawmakers’ response to Israel’s strike on Iran, sweeping support with signs of tension
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