Sarah Seltzer
By Sarah Seltzer
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Life On Jonathan Franzen, the Times’ Book Review, and Why Women’s Fiction Gets Short Shrift
Jonathan Franzen’s new novel, “Freedom,” arrives this week with considerable fanfare, but also a little bit of backlash. Although the author is not a Jew, one of his characters is, and he has a place in the cool crowd of literary writers than includes many Jewish writers such as Michael Chabon, Jonathan Safran-Foer and more…
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Life The Strip Clubs Near the ‘Hallowed Ground’ That Is Ground Zero
In the midst of the never-ending storm about the Park51 — the Islamic cultural center formerly known as Cordoba House — in Lower Manhattan, which is causing more than a little controversy due to its proximity to Ground Zero, The Daily News ran a funny piece about other interesting “cultural centers” that lie a mere…
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Life Abortion Coverage Excluded from ‘High-Risk’ Pools
My inbox was flooded with emails from outraged readers this week from pro-choice and civil liberties groups demanding action on abortion coverage in health reform. It felt a little déjà-vu. After the healthcare reform process, which brought us Bart Stupak and months of controversy over whether abortion would be sidelined as a different kind of…
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Life On Becoming Sarah ‘Is Anyone Here Jewish?’ Seltzer
When I arrived last week for a writing residency at Vermont College of Fine Arts, I sat with my fellow new students in a basement room getting “oriented” and kvetching about the poor quality of the accommodations. But as we began to introduce ourselves and each other during a “getting to know you” game, I…
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Life The Jewish ‘Crisis Pregnancy Center’: Et Tu, Shifra?
I can’t quite describe the sock in the gut I felt over the weekend when I read about “In Shifra’s Arms,” which is apparently the first crisis pregnancy center targeting young Jewish women. The story was first reported in the Washington Jewish Week by Sisterhood contributor Sarah Breger. As a reproductive rights advocate, I’m strongly…
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Life Molly Bloom, Jewess?
Bloomsday, the semi-official holiday dedicated to the celebration of James Joyce’s “Ulysses,” has become a favorite festival for both Irish and Jewish folks of the literary persuasion. And why should the holiday, celebrated the 16th of June (when all of main action of “Ulysses” takes place), not appeal to both groups? The novel’s incredibly likable…
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Life Why We’re Hooked on Helen Thomas
Flare-ups and screw-ups in the Middle East reveal peoples’ biases much closer to home — and I’m addicted to discovering them. The last few times there’s been a flare-up of violence and controversy between Israel and its antagonists, I’ve taken to quietly but obsessively scrolling through the comments sections of blogs discussing the topic. I…
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Life A Jewish Wedding for a Couple of Non-Believers
In college, I abandoned a sort of mystical, wishy-washy Reform Jewish with a touch of nature-worshiping belief system to embrace happy, unabashed non-believer status. Nonetheless, I retained a deep love for Jewish tradition and spirituality and a fierce commitment to Jewish self-identification and ritual. So when my avowedly atheist but equally culturally-proud Jewish fiancé and…
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