Jewish Literary Review

Category Archives: Steve rants

Posted on April 15, 2009 by Steve Pollak

Goodbye, Portnoy? I don’t think so.

There’s a fairly new ‘web exclusive’ article on the Vanity Fair Web site and it talks about the rise of the ‘New Yiddishists.’ The terms refers to “today’s talented crop of young Jewish writers, such as Nathan Englander, Michael Chabon, … Continue reading →

Posted on July 16, 2008 by Steve Pollak

Was Kafka a self-hating Jew? Really?

Based on some of the things he said about Jews, certain scholars have called Franz Kafka a Jewish anti-Semite. He said he admired Zionism but was “nauseated” by it. He said he’d like to stuff all Jews (himself included) into … Continue reading →

Posted on June 23, 2008 by Steve Pollak

A great Web site for literature in translation

I'd like to file this one under 'Web sites you should bookmark.' Over on Bud Parr's blog, Chekhov's Mistress, I read a recent entry that discussed several international literary links. And in that post, Parr mentioned the “ever excellent and … Continue reading →

Posted on February 7, 2008 by Steve Pollak

Why book reviews matter

If you're still wondering why book reviews matter, there's an excellent piece written by Joan Acocella in the Feb. 4 issue of The New Yorker. The piece itself does not say anything specifically about book reviews or literary criticism. It's … Continue reading →

Posted on January 25, 2008 by Steve Pollak

Who you calling ‘secular?’

Writing in the Washington Post earlier this month, the eminent Jewish history professor Jonathan Sarna (pictured right) praised the PBS documentary “The Jewish Americans” for its depiction of Jews as people who landed on these shores a long, long time … Continue reading →