James Joyce’s ‘The Dead’
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
Imagine walking into a beautiful Fifth Avenue mansion then being transported along with 43 other guests to wintry Dublin in 1904 — to drink sherry and Irish whiskey with a handful of James Joyce’s characters. This was my time travel experience at New York’s American Irish Historical Society where the Irish Repertory Theatre staged an adaptation of Joyce’s “The Dead.” Each scene took place in a different room of the parlor floor of this Victorian mansion, and for the final scene between Gabriel and Gretta Conroy, the audience was invited to the second floor bedroom of the mansion as a snow blower blew white flakes against the glass. At dinner I sat between Mr. Brown and Aunt Julia, and as they slipped in and out of character while talking to me, I ate fluffy pudding and marveled at this perfect evening that gratified all the senses.
Why I became the Forward’s Editor-in-Chief
You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.
And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.
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