Jewish Personalities

Allen Ginsberg, Herbert Gold and my Man kiss

By at 6 August, 2008, 1:41 pm

Last Friday I interviewed writer Herbert Gold for an upcoming column (which I should be writing instead of this!). We discussed Allen Ginsberg with whom Gold went to college at Columbia. I’ll be sure to mention that in the column, but two things that may not make it in I wanted to add here: First, […]

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JEWISH LIKE AMY FINE COLLINS at VanityFair.com

By at 4 June, 2008, 12:10 pm

Amy Fine Collins, who often writes on fashion, and who administrates the International Best Dressed List, has written an exclusive web piece for VanityFair.com called “Jewish Like Me” about her own feelings and experiences, and coming to terms with her Jewish identity. Like many journalists, sometimes the best stories you have to tell, are the […]

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Remembering Abby Mann

By at 28 March, 2008, 10:08 am

Abby Mann, of “Judgment in Nuremberg” fame died this week. I interviewed him in 2005 on the occasion of a stage production of Judgment in Long Beach, at his home in Beverlywood. He was a writer who never lacked material, who never suffered from “Agism” who was being hired by studios in his 70s and […]

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An Obit worth reading

By at 13 February, 2008, 2:47 pm

Martha Blum, author of the Walnut Tree has died. Her obit in The Globe and Mail is worth reading…..read all the way to the end and read her last words…. MARTHA BLUM, 94: WRITER Pharmacist survived the Holocaust to publish her first novel at 86 All told, the Saskatoon teacher and musician wrote three books […]

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DYLAN WEEK AT TOMMYWOOD

By at 6 February, 2008, 3:08 pm

Last night I went to the opening of the Dylan exhibit at the Skirball. Let me say this –I’ve now been twice and I still haven’t had the time to look at everything I want to as deeply as I’d like. My Tommywood column on the exhibit will appear in the Jewish Journal of Los […]

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The Brazilian Kafka? Clarice Lispector

By at 30 January, 2008, 10:08 am

This morning’s Nextbook has an essay by Anderson Tepper on Brazilian writer Clarice Lispector. Her work called to mind a tropical, female Kafka with sensory overload. As the French literary critic and philosopher Hélène Cixous put it: “I discovered an immense writer, the equivalent for me of Kafka, with something more: This was a woman, […]

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The Justice tells a Joke

By at 24 January, 2008, 8:49 pm

    Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is one of the stars of “The Jewish Americans,” the six hour documentary that is currently airing on PBS. On the first show she tells a joke apropos herself and her heritage as a Jewish American, that is both wise and true, the very definition of a Jewish […]

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Man ‘O Manischewitz — Amy Winehouse Hanukkah album?

By at 16 January, 2008, 2:57 pm

Rolling Stone reports that Amy Winehouse, fresh out of rehab is considering recording some Hanukkah songs, such as “Kosher Kisses” — see below Grammy-nominated DJ and super-producer Mark Ronson tells Rolling Stone’s Nicole Frehsee that he’s seen his most famous collaborator (other than Bob Dylan), Amy Winehouse, recently, and they discussed new music. “She’s writing […]

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Man ‘O Manischewitz — Amy Winehouse Hanukkah album?

By at 16 January, 2008, 2:57 pm

Rolling Stone reports that Amy Winehouse, fresh out of rehab is considering recording some Hanukkah songs, such as “Kosher Kisses” — see below Grammy-nominated DJ and super-producer Mark Ronson tells Rolling Stone’s Nicole Frehsee that he’s seen his most famous collaborator (other than Bob Dylan), Amy Winehouse, recently, and they discussed new music. “She’s writing […]

Read More >>

Man ‘O Manischewitz — Amy Winehouse Hanukkah album?

By at 16 January, 2008, 2:57 pm

Rolling Stone reports that Amy Winehouse, fresh out of rehab is considering recording some Hanukkah songs, such as “Kosher Kisses” — see below Grammy-nominated DJ and super-producer Mark Ronson tells Rolling Stone’s Nicole Frehsee that he’s seen his most famous collaborator (other than Bob Dylan), Amy Winehouse, recently, and they discussed new music. “She’s writing […]

Read More >>