What impressed me most about these two different women is they were both products of an America which values determination and wit and intelligence, as well as opportunity.
Book Review: “Washington Black” — Grappling with the Meanings of Liberty
In Washington Black novelist Esi Edugyan has defied the cliché of the escaped slave discovering freedom.
Book Review: “Your Duck Is My Duck” — Not Enough Tingles
Deborah Eisenberg’s stories pull you in and imitate life in an uncanny way.
Theater Review: “Morning After Grace” — A Cause for Celebration
It is heart-warming that, in these “worst of times,” playwrights like Carey Crim are working quietly to give us a look at new beginnings with humor and tenderness and hope.
Book Commentary: Philip Roth — American Warnings
In the end, Philip Roth produced the greatest body of work in the 20th century since William Faulkner and Saul Bellow and I.B. Singer.
Book Review: Tale of Two Short Story Collections, Schutt and Ortese
Schutt’s is an example of the kind of fiction that is being taken seriously in too many quarters in this new century, but that is not nearly good enough.
Theater Review: “Anna Christie” — A Memorable Look at Life on the Margins
The Lyric Stage production of Anna Christie does right by Eugene O’Neill’s brilliance.
Theater Review: “Orlando” — Asking What Gender Really Means
There is much to love in this Lyric Stage Company production and I recommend it highly.
Book Review: Charlotte Salomon — A Magnificent Act of Faith
To mark the hundredth birthday of Charlotte Salomon, who is emerging as one of the 20th century’s great artists, come two fabulous volumes dedicated to her work.
Book Review: “Surviving Jersey” — Chronicling Wild Times
This superb volume is much more than a group of essays; it is a tale with a trajectory fashioned by a writer who is determined to be achingly honest.