Month: July 2020

Virginity and free love in the immigrant world of tenements, in Miriam Karpilove’s newly translated, unselfconsciously Jewish, and hugely popular Yiddish novel ‘Diary of a Lonely Girl’ One goal of this column has been to persuade you to read dusty old Jewish books that were edgy and cool a century ago. This means, I hope, that you are getting a powerful impression of the depth and inventiveness of Yiddish literary artistry. What you’re not getting, however, is … Dara Horn – (Not Much) Sex in the CityRead more

Henry David Thoreau was one of the most influential transcendental American writers and Walden was one of the movement’s most important works. Solitude, except from Walden, is thus more a state of mind than an actual physical circumstance, and for Thoreau it approaches a mystical state. Thoreau is making a point to differentiate between solitude and loneliness, which one can feel even when one is in the company of other people. This is a delicious evening, when the whole … Walden Thoreau – SolitudeRead more