Philip Roth - 73 And Looking Good Word from: Mordy

This is a good looking man. And according to the New York Times, his new book "Everyman" will have his image on the book cover, for the first time ever.

Proof of his fitness is the jacket photo for his new novel, "Everyman," which is being published by Houghton Mifflin. This is the first time in ages that Mr. Roth, famously private and publicity-averse, has allowed his likeness to appear on one of his books.

The prolific author is apparently also working on another novel, now that "Everyman" is being published. The only thing he told NYT about the new novel is it's length, comparable to "Everyman."

"The thing about this length that I've particularly come to like is that you can get the impact of a novel, which arises from its complexity and the thoroughness of detail, but you can also get the impact you get from a short story, because a good reader can keep the whole thing in mind. Motifs can be repeated, and they will be remembered."

I'll be buying the new book, and mourning the fact that Roth will never speak in Yeshiva University again. Way to antagonize the greatest living Jewish author, guys. Sheesh.

Aaron Bulman Reading Word from: Jake

We dedicated the third issue of Mima'amakim to Aaron Bulman, a great, great Jewish poet who lived and created in Washington Heights, crashed the downtown readings, had his work published in Paris Review, Partisan Review, and many other places. On his intitiative we had our first reading - at the Bridge Shul. Flannel Press published a collection of his poetry, and there will be a book release - poetry reading this Sunday, here's info. Mordy's review of the collection is due to appear in the Forward in the near future.

Coetzee and Literature Word from: Mordy

Right before Passover is the perfect time to evaluate the condition of the production of art in United States. It isn't? Too bad, I'm going for it anyway -

Coetzee, The Nation reports, had harsh words for the current art model - which he claims teaches people to write fiction, but not to understand it. In his own words:

Should we be worried that the graduating students are equipped to write novels and stories and plays for today's literary market but not well informed about the history of these forms or about what has been achieved in the forms in the past?

We should totally worry. It keeps me up nights. Actually, I'd be happy if Yeshiva U would offer some classes to teach how to write for today's literary market. Jake assures me that Coetzee is referring to MFA programs. Coetzee most recently wrote a brilliant review of "Memory of My Melancholy Whores" in NY Review of Books.

I say brilliant, because the review uses Marquez's new book (in mini size for ADD readers) to discuss literature in general - jumping from Marquez to Lolita to Cervantes. One can see in the early 2006 review the seeds of his opinion voiced in The Nation - clearly he is a man with a strong grasp of literary history. Contrast to another reviewer - Michiko Kakutani - who Ben Yagoda skewers in a recent Slate article.

Kakutani doesn't offer the stylistic flair, the wit, or the insight one gets from Kael and other first-rate critics; for her, the verdict is the only thing. One has the sense of her deciding roughly at Page 2 whether or not a book is worthy; reading the rest of it to gather evidence for her case; spending some quality time with the Thesaurus; and then taking a large blunt hammer and pounding the message home.

Though Passover may not be the ideal time to decide on the condition of literature, or to compare the merits of reviewers - it is a good time to think about liberating ourselves from the confines we have placed ourselves. Whether that be moral, intellectual, literary - breaking forth from comfortable writing - it's a good time to reflect. Genuflect - or whatnot. Personally, I'm going to write a ton of papers, work on my short fiction, and eat tons of Matzah.

Cheers!

Three Grand New Sites Word from: Jake

Mini-explosion of cool new websites.

Lilit Marcus, who has blogged for us, and made a spectacular appearance at the publication party, has launched her own blog. Lots of excellent writing on there.

Jeremiah Lockwood (of Sway Machinery) has released a new solo CD, and a site to go with it. Check out the rocking samples. Jeremiah will redeem the Jewish music from its jejuneness. I'm a believer. The CD release party is on Tue Apr 11^th 7 pm at Mo Pitkin's.

Last but not least. This is the orgasmatron of the month. PennSound has a mammoth collection of poetry / prose audio files, including readings of some of the best contemporary poets & writers - Yusef Komunyakaa, ck williams, Paul Auster, Anne Waldman, Bob Holman, et al. Even Amiri Baraka is on there. Who is an excellent reader, despite being a douche bag. And I found Vladimir Mayakovsky, too, oh man! I can't get enough of this site.