Arts & Letters

An interview with Charles London,
author of Far From Zion

January 26, 2010

Charles London recently took some time to answer a few questions for the New Vilna Review via email. His most recent book, Far From Zion, offers a portrait of different Jewish communities around the globe, and was a finalist for the 2009 National Jewish Book Award. His first book, One Day the Soldiers Came, dealt with issues surrounding the impact of war on youth, including child soldiers.

A (Rather Disturbing, but Definitely Funny) Look Inside the Israeli Government

November 8, 2008 

Book Review by Daniel E. Levenson

In Shut Up, I’m Talking,  And Other Diplomacy Lessons I Learned in The Israeli Government (Free Press, New York, 2008), author Gregory Levey, has written a hilarious, if at times slightly disturbing, memoir about his experiences working as an English-language speech writer for the Israeli government. While it may not be the most politically deep or lyrical of prose, Levey has written a very engaging and highly-readable memoir about the ups and downs of working for the Israeli government, first as a speechwriter at the Israeli mission to the United Nations in New York and then as a speechwriter in the offices of Israeli Prime ministers Ariel Sharon and Ehud Olmert.

Interview with Emily Mello, Director of Education at the Rose Art Museum at Brandeis University

July 25, 2008

Emily Mello, Director of Education at the Rose Art Museum recently took some time to answer a few questions from the New Vilna Review by email. In this interview she talks about the history of the museum, as well as upcoming exhibitions.

NVR: Can you tell us a little about your own background in education and the museum world?

I studied art history at Mount Holyoke College and knew that I wanted to pursue a career in arts that involved engaging diverse audiences. I was particularly interested in the way that the art of our time engaged directly with the issues and ideas of our time and felt that access to this work should be shared by all. After interning at the RISD Museum of Art I got my Masters in Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. I was attracted to pedagogical approaches that privileged process over product and I think that mirrors much of the art and readings of art that I am also drawn to. From Harvard, I went on to be a Curator of Education at the Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati Ohio for over 4 years. There I managed and directed our tour, school and community programs as well as developing public programming that included music, film, and performance. I came back to New England to work at the Rose as Director of Education in January.

Inside Yoav Liberman's Studio: Etrog Boxes and American Beauty

June 30, 2008

         Etrog                American Beauty

Artist Statement

Found objects and discarded wood serve as both the literal and the metaphorical “raw material” for all my work: they provide the actual physical basis out of which a new piece will be formed; but just as crucially, they provide the conceptual inspiration for that new piece.

Brandeis Hosts Exhibition of “Post-Jewish” Art

June 26, 2008 

by Daniel E. Levenson

Jewish artists have always found different ways to express not only Jewish ideas, but their own personal relationship to those ideas. In songs, poems, paintings and other art forms, each generation must wrestle anew with the rich and complex cultural and theological traditions of Judaism, and the one which was born in the 1960’s and 1970’s is no exception. This is clearly evident in “The New Authentics: Artists of the Post-Jewish Generation,” an exhibit currently at the Rose Art Museum at Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. The exhibit is on loan from the Spertus Museum in Chicago, where it was created by Senior Curator Staci Boris.

Tales From the Jewish South

Book Review by Nina R. Schneider

 In the Mouth: stories & novellas by Eileen Pollack Four Way Books, 2008.

In her fiction, writer Eileen Pollack treats American-Jewish characters with honesty, affection and humor—yet adds a satiric edge that is both recognizable and disconcerting. The author of the novel Paradise, New York and the story collection The Rabbi in the Attic returns with tales set in the Jewish uber retirement community of Boca Raton, Florida, aka “Boca,” which means “mouth” in Spanish.  In her latest collection, In the Mouth, I was struck by the authenticity of both the characters and settings. Dramatic conflicts between adult children and their aging parents in distress reveal surprise role reversals.  Pollack’s themes include deception, loss, guilt, illness, as well as human yearnings for love and meaning at all stages of life.

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