by Matthew Friedman | May 22, 2022 | Books, Jewish Life, Reviews
The Canvas and Other StoriesSalomea Perl, translated by Ruth MurphyBen Yehuda Press There is always great pleasure in the discovery of a new author – the rush of jouissance upon hearing a new literary voice for the first time, the delicious anticipation of hearing it...
by Matthew Friedman | May 15, 2022 | Commentary, Politics
What’s in a label? That question has been on my mind since Audie Wood’s most recent column first landed in my email in-box. “We have to call it what it is,” Wood wrote. We have to recognize that the reactionary right-wing movement that is driving the Republican Party...
by Matthew Friedman | May 4, 2022 | Essays, Politics
I can hear my mother’s voice: “You shouldn’t say things like that.” Nancy Salter, who died 16 years ago, was a brilliant writer and editor, a social worker, and an activist committed to social justice and the project of making the world a better place. She was also a...
by Matthew Friedman | May 1, 2022 | Books, Essays, Jewish Life
The Original Bambi: The Story of a Life in the Forest Felix Salten, translated by Jack Zipes, with illustrations by Alenka Sottler Princeton University Press “Two leaves fell from the great oak tree at the edge of the meadow.” Thus begins the eighth chapter of Felix...
by Matthew Friedman | Apr 24, 2022 | Commentary, Jewish Life, Politics
The shabby old man was a “loathsome reptile, engendered in the slime and darkness through which he moved.” And he drew the boy, “a young friend of mine” he said, deeper into his clutches. He ensured that the innocent child “was seldom left alone; but was placed in...
