Dear friends of writing and reading – Today is Yom HaShoah, a Jewish holiday that commemorates the Holocaust. A long time ago, before I converted to Judaism I taught college courses on the literature of the Holocaust. It was during this time that I got to know a friend of a friend, the scholar … Continue reading Argue with your mother, recite a poem, experience a moment of grace: Ruth Klueger at Auschwitz
Category: memoir
Too real: Bergdorf’s, New York, East Coast private schools and the sexual threat from E. Jean Carroll to Christine Blasey Ford (it really is as bad as it sounds)
Friends -- this is not my usual kind of post, but these are some thoughts I'd like to share nonetheless. This past Friday night, I watched E. Jean Carroll tell Lawrence O’Donnell her story of how Donald Trump raped her in a dressing room at Bergdorf Goodman. That story – like the story of Christine … Continue reading Too real: Bergdorf’s, New York, East Coast private schools and the sexual threat from E. Jean Carroll to Christine Blasey Ford (it really is as bad as it sounds)
Story Time Sunday returns — Ajar
Dear friends -- a while back (a few years ago), I launched a madly ambitious plan to post a new little story every week. I burned out. I liked the idea though, so I'm going to try to post a new little story once a month, on the last Sunday of every month. Well, I … Continue reading Story Time Sunday returns — Ajar
At last! 2nd Visit to Bad Germany, part 2
In my previous post from many months ago, I made my 1985 trip to the German Democratic Republic (aka East Germany, aka "bad" Germany) sound like a good time, didn’t I? It was a good time. But it wasn’t always comfortable. It was not always fun. One of the worst experiences I had on this … Continue reading At last! 2nd Visit to Bad Germany, part 2
2nd visit to bad Germany, part 1
Friends -- I’ve been writing about the German Democratic Republic (aka East Germany, aka "bad" Germany) in the light of discussions about communism, Russians, the cold war, and most recently fascism and the connections to all of these things in this country. Here’s the first installment of my 2nd trip. By 1985, I had received … Continue reading 2nd visit to bad Germany, part 1
A tale of two countries (part 1)
Friends – I generally use this blog to talk about the unreal, but today I want to talk about something real. I want to talk about a country that used to exist. It’s gone now. It’s been gone for almost 30 years. And most of us don’t remember its existence. That’s how successfully it has … Continue reading A tale of two countries (part 1)
Stephanie Barbé Hammer Writing (Un) Real 