OCTOBER 2020
WASHINGTON DC // MEET THE POLITICIANS, ARTISTS & ACTIVISTS AT THE HEART OF THE AMERICAN CAPITAL
With the US election in mind we turn our attentions across the pond in this issue. We focus on the Jewish history of Washington DC, from its Civil War days up to the present, speaking to an array of lively Washingtonians and hearing about the late, great Ruth Bader Ginsburg. We also discuss American politics and the state of the country with acclaimed American novelist Joshua Cohen. Elsewhere, Canadian writer Anne Michaels marks the centenary of poet Paul Celan; author Michael Rosen reviews the film adaptation of When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit; and award-winning historian David Abulafia discusses a new book on the history of the ghetto.
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Joshua Cohen
FEATURE: JOSHUA COHEN
As November’s US presidential election looms, Rebecca Taylor speaks to the American author Joshua Cohen about the turmoil unfolding in his country and asks about the role of writers in addressing political issues
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WHAT’S NEW
Vladislav Davidzon finds past and present collide in Belarus; Berlin’s museum of exile.
FEATURE
Rebecca Taylor speaks to the American novelist Joshua Cohen about the troubled state of his nation.
FEATURE
Which statues should be pulled down? Samantha Baskind debates how we remember our dead.
PASSPORT
Washington DC: hear the story of the Civil War Jews; discover Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s favourite DC places; and meet the politicians, filmmakers, artists and activists who live and work in this dynamic capital city.
FILM
Michael Rosen reviews When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit; Michael Etherton: the film that changed my life.
THEATRE
Judi Herman speaks to Dame Hermione Lee about her new biography of Tom Stoppard.
ART
How Zoom is helping Mexican artist Aliza Nisenbaum to create her new paintings of Liverpool’s keyworkers.
MUSIC
Beethoven and the 19th century culture wars.
BOOKS
On the centenary of the birth of poet Paul Celan, Anne Michaels reflects on his relationship with the German language; George Prochnik on a new voice from Vienna; Moris Farhi’s last novel; Oxford’s illuminated glories; David Abulafia reviews a new history of the ghetto.
THE YIDDISHISTS
Our series that uncovers the YIVO archive. This issue: Songs of the suffragettes.
SEPHARDI RENAISSANCE
The Scribe is back!; Jonathan Kaufman on the Shanghai families who built modern China; a childhood in Alexandria.
WHAT’S HAPPENING
Our three-month guide to art, books, film, music, theatre and other cultural events in the UK, Europe and Israel.
FAMILY
A new book by Michael Rosen and Quentin Blake explores what it means to be a refugee.
MEET THE READER
Esther Robinson Wild in Oxford.
