The Forward Talks Russian Lit With Meir Shalev
Meir Shalev, one of Israel’s most renowned novelists, interviewed Ludmilla Ulitskaya from Russia at the International Writers’ Festival at Mishkenot Sha’ananim in Jerusalem on Tuesday May 4. Author of “Blue Mountain” (1991, “Russian Novel” in the Hebrew, translated by Hillel Halkin), more recently the acclaimed “A Pigeon and A Boy” (2007, translated by Evan Fallenberg) and the forthcoming “That’s How it Was,” Shalev discussed with Ulitskaya some of the similarities and differences between Russian and Israeli writers. I caught up with him after the panel to ask a few more questions:
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.
— Alyssa Katz, editor-in-chief
