Out and About: Gary Shteyngart Wins Wodehouse Prize; Sol LeWitt at City Hall

Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
-
Flavorwire previews an exhibit of sculptures by Sol LeWitt, on view in New York at City Hall Park.
-
Gary Shteyngart has won the Wodehouse Prize for comic fiction, the first American to ever receive the honor.
-
In Bob Dylan birthday news this week, singer-songwriter Nikki Jean performs one of his unfinished songs, while newly released interview tapes from 1966 show him in a darker mood.
-
Adam Kirsch reviews “Leeches,” a novel by Serbian Jewish writer David Albahari.
-
The New York Times profiles French-Jewish playwright Yasmina Reza.
-
Irish novelist John Banville has won the Franz Kafka prize, which some say augurs the Nobel.
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.
