This is the Forward’s coverage of Jewish culture where you’ll learn about the latest (and sometimes earliest) in Jewish art, music (including of course Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen), film, theater, books as well as the secret Jewish history of…
Culture
-
The Rise of American Girl Rebecca Rubin
I am too old to have grown up with American Girl dolls, and my daughter, at 17 months, is too young. But I mentioned the dolls to our 22-year-old nanny, Ellie, a nursing student at the University of Wisconsin who grew up near Milwaukee, and a few weeks later she brought me two heavy shopping…
-
My Jewish American Girl
I was never a Barbie kind of girl. While my friends collected armies of pink, plastic mannequins — oh, the sequined gowns and magenta workout getups and never-ending ponytails of faux blond locks, not to mention Barbie’s Corvette and three-story dream house, complete with working elevator, garage and pool — I was given educational toys….
-
The Depardieu Affair
One hundred and fifteen years ago, Cyrano de Bergerac leapt into history. Following the opening performance of Edmond Rostand’s play on December 28, 1897, a dazzled audience obliged the cast to make forty curtain calls. The following night, government officials came to the theater and awarded Rostand with the Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur. A…
The Latest
-
You Call That Couscous?
On a recent visit to New York, I was handed a menu in a restaurant, on which appeared the entree “Blackened salmon on a bed of Israeli couscous.” “Blackened” I knew; that’s slightly charred in a spicy sauce. But what was “Israeli couscous”? I’d lived in Israel for more than 40 years and never encountered…
-
She’s a Believer
Chatting over a light lunch at Joe Allen, a well-known spot for Broadway regulars, the soft-spoken Kirsten Holly Smith bears no resemblance to the brash, swaggering singer Dusty Springfield, Smith’s alter ego in “Forever Dusty,” playing off-Broadway. Smith’s onstage transformation is stunning as she evokes the fierce determination — and underlying vulnerability — of the…
-
Looking Back: January 4, 2012
100 Years Ago 1912 After hearing screams coming from a hut on the lake in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park, a boy ran to a nearby police officer and told him something was wrong. The officer ran to the hut, where he found a young woman who had been shot three times in the back and once…
-
Books Your Graphic Novel and Mine
Earlier this week, Ilan Stavans wrote about the problem with academic writing and asked: Is there a Jewish literary renaissance? His blog posts are featured on The Arty Semite courtesy of the Jewish Book Council and My Jewish Learning’s Author Blog Series. For more information on the series, please visit: I’m a passionate lover of…
-
Books Academic Freedom Is Wasted on Academics
Earlier this week, Ilan Stavans asked: Is there a Jewish literary renaissance? His blog posts are featured on The Arty Semite courtesy of the Jewish Book Council and My Jewish Learning’s Author Blog Series. For more information on the series, please visit: Sometimes when I’m congratulated for writing well, the praise comes with a sense…
-
Books Is There a Jewish Literary Renaissance?
Ilan Stavans is Lewis-Sebring Professor in Latin American and Latino Culture at Amherst College. His most recent books are the collection of essays “Singer’s Typewriter and Mine: Reflections on Jewish Culture” (University of Nebraska Press, 2002) and the graphic novel “El Iluminado” (Basic Books, with Steve Sheinkin). His blog posts are featured on The Arty…
-
Books A Jewish Thanksgiving in Avalon
Earlier, Harry Brod wrote about how Jews don’t have a “middle range,” speaking backwards, a couple of sayings with which he disagrees, and why he always has a valid passport. His blog posts are featured on The Arty Semite courtesy of the Jewish Book Council and My Jewish Learning’s Author Blog Series. For more information…
-
Books ‘Mad’ Founder’s War Comics
Corpse on the Imjin! And Other Stories By Harvey Kurtzman, Edited by Gary Groth Fantagraphics, 227 pages, $28.99 Harvey Kurtzman (1924-1993) is today remembered as the Bronx-born genius editor who invented Mad Magazine, the most pervasive satirical influence of the 20th century. That single claim-to-fame is hard to avoid, but Kurtzman’s larger role in the…
Explore
Most Popular
- 1
Opinion Mamdani has made ample efforts for Jews. How come no one is telling that story?
- 2
News Nearly half of young U.S. Jews want to replace Israel with binational state, poll finds
- 3
Film & TV Woody Allen’s biggest fans were easy marks for a fake monologue about antisemitism
- 4
News Floyd Mayweather showered cash on Jewish causes — and now he’s suing their ‘Robin Hood’ alleging $175 million got diverted
In Case You Missed It
-
Fast Forward NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani missed the Israel Day Parade. Many who went didn’t miss him.
-
Fast Forward NY Democratic stalwarts show support for Israel even as Mamdani skips parade
-
Fast Forward For the first time, a kosher restaurant has won a Michelin star
-
Fast Forward London police are ‘reviewing’ video of Helen Mirren being called ‘an evil Zionist’