Talya Zax is the Forward’s opinion editor. Contact her at zax@forward.com or on Twitter, @TalyaZax.
Talya ZaxOpinion Editor
By Talya Zax
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Culture Richard Spencer’s Master’s Thesis Was an Anti-Semitic Critique — of a Jewish Philosopher
There’s lots to be puzzled by when it comes Richard Spencer, popularizer of the term “alt-right,” the label preferred by contemporary white supremacists. Given that white Europeans colonized America (brutally, we might add), how does he justify thinking the country fundamentally belongs to them? As certain press outlets — in moves of misjudgment that seem…
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Culture ‘Fun Home’ Librettist, Composer-Playwright Win Kleban Prizes for Writing in Musical Theater
Librettist Lisa Kron, best known for writing the book and lyrics to the Broadway darling “Fun Home,” and Daniel Zaitchik, a composer-playwright whose work has been developed by Lincoln Center Theater, have won the 2017 Kleban Prizes for writing in musical theater. The prizes, which comes with a cool $100,000, are awarded by the Kleban…
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Fast Forward For President Obama, Jewish Authors Gave Voice to Outsider Experience in America
In one of his last interviews in office, President Barack Obama told The New York Times’ chief book critic, Michiko Kakutani, that he thinks Philip Roth and Saul Bellow rank among the greatest authors to explore the experience of being an outsider in the United States. “Some of the great books by Jewish authors like…
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Culture Writers Resist, “God of Vengeance,” and More to Read, Watch, and Do This Weekend
This week, the Forward presents a more concise weekend roundup. In books, look to Andre Aciman’s new collection of linked stories “Enigma Variations,” Ayelet Waldman’s new memoir of microdosing LSD “A Really Good Day,” , and the newly released paperback version of Ludmila Ulitskaya’s “The Big Green Tent.” In New York, catch the last week…
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Fast Forward Art Spiegelman, Masha Gessen and More Join ‘Writers Resist’ Rally
On Sunday, January 14th a crowd of literary luminaries will hold a midtown Manhattan rally, “Writers Resist: #LouderTogether” to support the right to free expression. The rally’s primary organizer, PEN America, described the event as a “literary protest” to “defend free expression, reject hatred, and uphold truth in the face of lies and misinformation.” The…
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Culture The Last Time We Saw ‘God of Vengeance’ on Broadway, the Whole Cast Got Arrested
To Eleanor Reissa, director of New Yiddish Rep’s current revival of “God of Vengeance,” Sholem Asch’s controversial 1907 play is about questions, often maddeningly unanswerable ones. “Who is to blame? What is it about? Who is the most corrupt? What does it mean to be this kind of religious Jew? What is a whore? What…
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Fast Forward Forward Writer Is Finalist as Daniel Gordis and Michael Chabon Win National Jewish Book Awards
Winners of the 2016 National Jewish Book Awards, announced this morning by the Jewish Book Council, include Daniel Gordis, whose “Israel: A Concise History of a Nation Reborn” won Book of the Year, Rose Tremain, who won the JJ Greenberg Memorial Award in Fiction for “The Gustav Sonata,” and Michael Chabon, who was awarded the…
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Fast Forward For Ayelet Waldman, Microdosing LSD Led to Revelations
Think the psychedelic drug LSD belongs in the tie-dyed “turn on, tune in, drop out” days of the past? Ayelet Waldman — novelist, essayist, and wife of Michael Chabon — believes that, at least when it comes to therapeutic drug use, you ought to think again. In her new book “A Really Good Day: How…
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