I was invited to frame “The Story of How We Got Here” at ACT’s recent gathering to show solidarity and support for survivors of sexual assault, misconduct, and abuse in the halls and spaces of Reform Jewish life. Folks have been asking for me to publish my remarks, so I’m putting them here.
Author Archives: Adam
We Must Not Yield To Whataboutism
A question I used to ask my coworkers at URJ Camp Harlam: Is the purpose of camp to show the campers a world as it could be, or to prepare them for the world as it is? One despicable answer seems to have been unfolding at Camp Ramah Berkshires over the past few years.
“LA Affairs” Column in Los Angeles Times
An essay I wrote about my unconventional current living arrangement and its impact on my dating life was published on April Fools’ Day in the LA Affairs column of the Los Angeles Times. It was not a joke. I hope you read and enjoy!
Essay in New Voices
I wrote an essay about toxic masculinity in the progressive religious community to which I belong. I encourage you to check it out over at New Voices
Interview with Matt Bell, author of Appleseed, at TCR
Hey folks! I spoke with writer Matt Bell about his latest novel, Appleseed, for an interview at The Coachella Review. It was a fantastic conversation and I encourage you to check it out here. Thank you!
Album Review: Punch Brothers, All Ashore (2018)
Released in July of 2018, the album pursues timelessness by firmly rooting itself in the here and now of its current moment, considering themes of isolation and division, love and transcendence in a fracturing age.
Opal & Nev Review Published at TCR
A review I wrote of The Final Revival of Opal & Nev, Dawnie Walton’s debut novel, was published today at The Coachella Review, the literary journal operated by students in my MFA program. I also read for the fiction section, and our Summer 2021 issue dropped at the beginning of the month–if you’d like toContinue reading “Opal & Nev Review Published at TCR“
Book Review: Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah’s Friday Black
Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, in his story collection Friday Black, grapples directly with big questions about race, history, capitalism, violence and the idea of America with such grace and ingenuity that the work sings with insight and relevance without sacrificing any literary merit.
Note: Sorry, Bari
It takes a certain type of insidiously selective ahistoricism to understand—to feel viscerally—the impact that centuries- and millennia-old events continue to visit on Jews living today and at the same time deny that the events of 400 years of American history continue to impact the lives of today’s Black Americans.
Alma: A Jewish Response to Trump’s Covid Diagnosis?
An essay I wrote about Jewish responses to Trump’s COVID diagnosis was published today at Alma. Check it out.
Adam Zemel 