Tag Archives: literary critic
Tales of My Mother
Tales of My Mother Only in Victorian novels do we find good women who are also universally beloved. Here, from the annals of literary memoir, is the view of my mother taken by the well-known writer, Diana Trilling. Diana was … Continue reading
Posted in "Absolute Freedom and Terror", Absurdism, Academe, Action, Afterlife, Alienation, American Politics, Art of Living, bad faith, beauty, books, Childhood, Cities, Class, conformism, Contemplation, Contradictions, Cool, Courage, Cultural Politics, Culture, Desire, dialectic, Erotic Life, Eternity, Ethics, Evil, Existentialism, Faith, Fashion, Female Power, Femininity, Feminism, Freedom, Friendship, Gender Balance, glitterati, Guilt and Innocence, hegemony, Heroes, hidden God, hierarchy, History, history of ideas, ID, Idealism, Ideality, Identity, Ideology, Idolatry, Immorality, Institutional Power, Jews, Journalism, Judaism, Legal Responsibility, life and death struggle, Literature, Love, Martyrdom, Masculinity, Memoir, memory, Modern Women, Modernism, Moral action, Moral evaluation, Moral psychology, morality, Mortality, motherhood, nineteenth-century, novels, Ontology, Oppression, Past and Future, Philosophy, Political, Political Movements, politics of ideas, post modernism, Power, presence, Propaganda, Psychology, public facade, Public Intellectual, Reading, Reductionism, relationships, Religion, Roles, Romance, Romantic Love, secular, Seduction, self-deception, Sex Appeal, Sexuality, social climbing, social construction, Social Conventions, social ranking, spiritual journey, spiritual not religious, Spirituality, status, status of women, Suffering, Terror, The Examined Life, The Problematic of Men, The Problematic of Woman, the profane, the sacred, Theology, Time, TV, twentieth century, twenty-first century, victimhood, victims, Violence, War, Work, Writing, Zeitgeist
Tagged Abigail L. Rosenthal's "Confessions of a Young Philosopher", catching spies, charisma, college friendships, Confessions of a Young Philosopher, Diana Trililng's The Beginning of the Journey: The Marriage of Diana and Lionel Trilling, Diana Trilling, East Side superintendent, end of Cold War, enemy agent, Europeanism, fall of communism, FBI raid, female cattiness, female jealousy, good women, Holocaust rescue, intuitive women, Lionel Trilling, literary critic, literary memoir, Nazi supporter, no filter, personal presence, Polish pope, Pope John Paul II, short wave radio, snobbery, social fearlessness, Sovietologists, storied lives, taking center stage, traditional woman, U boats, understanding people, unflattering recollections, upstaging, Victorian novels, wife and mother, womanly wisdom
7 Comments
Fording the Flood
Fording the Flood I had a dream the other night, depicting the journey I’m in the midst of at present. On a bus traveling long distance, I was a passenger. It was not a bus of recent vintage. It lacked … Continue reading
Posted in "Absolute Freedom and Terror", Absurdism, Academe, Action, Afterlife, Alienation, American Politics, Anthropology, Art, Art of Living, Atheism, Autonomy, beauty, Bible, Biblical God, books, Childhood, Christianity, Cities, Class, conformism, Contemplation, Contradictions, Courage, Courtship, Cultural Politics, Culture, Desire, dialectic, Erotic Life, Eternity, Ethics, Evil, Existentialism, exploitation, Faith, Fashion, Films, Freedom, Friendship, Gender Balance, glitterati, Guilt and Innocence, Health, hegemony, Heroes, hidden God, History, history of ideas, ID, Idealism, Ideality, Identity, Ideology, Idolatry, Institutional Power, Jews, Judaism, Law, Legal Responsibility, life and death struggle, Literature, Male Power, Masculinity, Memoir, memory, Modernism, Moral action, Moral evaluation, Moral psychology, morality, Mortality, novels, Oppression, Past and Future, Philosophy, politics of ideas, post modernism, Power, presence, Propaganda, Psychology, public facade, Public Intellectual, radicalism, Reading, Reductionism, relationships, Religion, Roles, scientism, secular, Seduction, self-deception, social climbing, social construction, Social Conventions, social ranking, spiritual journey, spiritual not religious, Spirituality, status, Suffering, The Examined Life, The Problematic of Men, The Problematic of Woman, the profane, the sacred, Theism, Theology, Time, TV, twentieth century, twenty-first century, victimhood, Work, Writing, Zeitgeist
Tagged academic life, “The Great American Novel”, bright young men, Clifton Fadiman, collegial competitiveness, Columbia University, Columbia University’s class of 1925, crossing dryshod, dream interpretation, dream journey, extreme subtlety, father-daughter relation, feeling flooded, feeling overwhelmed, figure out of his time, flood waters, Freud, genius of the class, Hasidic Master, Hebrew prophet, Henry M. Rosenthal, Henry M. Rosenthal’s Consolations of Philosophy: Hobbes’s Secret; Spinoza’s Way, Hunter College, inner journey, inner summons, intellectual pecking order, Israel, Israel’s providential role, Jeanne Hersch, life of the spirit, life problematic, Lionel Trilling, literary critic, literary parties, Marx, meaningful dreams, Modernism, Modernity, Mordecai Kaplan, Moses, opinion shapers, past life vision, past lives, philosophers, psychic vision, reconstructionism, Red Sea crossing, Reed Sea, Reform Judaism, spiritual frustration, supersessionism, sure-footedness, talking well, the best talker, the Holocaust, the Jewish spirit, the Jewish state, vintage vehicle, weather emergencies, white heat intensity
Leave a comment
Memoirs, True or False?
Memoirs, True or False? Readers of this column are reminded from time to time that I recently finished a memoir, Confessions of a Young Philosopher, and am looking round the publishing business to see if any editor/publisher will put up … Continue reading
Posted in Absurdism, Academe, Action, Afterlife, Alienation, Art, Art of Living, Atheism, Autonomy, beauty, Bible, Biblical God, Childhood, Chivalry, Christianity, Cities, Class, conformism, Contemplation, Contradictions, Cool, Courtship, Cultural Politics, Culture, Desire, dialectic, Erotic Life, Eternity, Ethics, Evil, Existentialism, exploitation, Faith, Fashion, Femininity, Feminism, Freedom, Friendship, Gender Balance, Guilt and Innocence, Health, Hegel, hegemony, Heroes, hidden God, hierarchy, History, history of ideas, ID, Idealism, Ideality, Identity, Ideology, Idolatry, Immorality, Immortality, Institutional Power, Law, Legal Responsibility, Literature, Love, Male Power, Martyrdom, Masculinity, master, Memoir, memory, Mind Control, Moral action, Moral evaluation, Moral psychology, Mortality, Mysticism, nineteenth-century, Ontology, Oppression, Past and Future, Phenomenology of Mind, Philosophy, Poetry, Political, Political Movements, politics, politics of ideas, post modernism, Power, presence, promissory notes, Propaganda, Psychology, public facade, Public Intellectual, Reductionism, relationships, Religion, Roles, Romance, Romantic Love, Romanticism, Seduction, self-deception, Sex Appeal, Sexuality, slave, social climbing, social construction, Social Conventions, social ranking, Sociobiology, spiritual journey, spiritual not religious, Spirituality, status, status of women, Suffering, The Examined Life, The Problematic of Men, The Problematic of Woman, the profane, the sacred, Theism, Theology, Time, twentieth century, twenty-first century, victimhood, victims, Work, Writing, Zeitgeist
Tagged "a dog in that fight", 19th century Denmark, Abigail L. Rosenthal's "Confessions of a Young Philosopher", Abigail L. Rosenthal's Tales of Rav Tsair, academe, aetheists, akedah, autobiographical, being misinformed, believers, bequest, betrothal, biography, boat launch, broken engagement, Columbia class of 1925, Confessions of a Young Philosopher, conflict of duties, Copenhagen, defamation, Diana Trililng's The Beginning of the Journey: The Marriage of Diana and Lionel Trilling, Diana Trilling, editor, ego-driven, formative experience, generous renunciation, Grandpa, hagiography, higher purpose, intellectual influence, intimacy, jilted girl, Joakim Garff's Kierkegaard’s Muse: The Mystery of Regine Olsen, Kierkegaard's Diary of a Seducer, Kierkegaardian influence, last will of Kierkegaard, Lionel Trilling, literary critic, magic mountain, male friendship, manipulation, married life, masks of ego, memoir, Mrs. Regine Schlegel, Natalie Robins' The Untold Journey: The Life of Diana Trilling, neurotic suspension of the ethical, New York intellectuals, obedience to divine commands, opinion shapers, philosophy, publisher, publishing business, realm of duty, Regine Olsen, self-will, shallow dogmatism, spiritual seduction, submission to the divine, Swiss sanitarium, Swiss TB treatment, TB treatment, teleological suspension of the ethical, The Binding of Isaac, the ethical level, the seducer, the spiritual level, theology, trust in God, University of Lausanne, woman as ideal
Leave a comment
“Hanging Fire”
“Hanging Fire” I seem to be at a rather gratifying plateau. “Confessions of a Young Philosopher” is now edited almost to completion. It may take another few weeks but the major hurdles have been cleared. It is, if I may … Continue reading
Posted in Academe, Action, Alienation, Art, Autonomy, Cities, Class, Contemplation, Contradictions, Cool, Culture, Desire, dialectic, Erotic Life, Eternity, Ethics, Evil, Existentialism, Faith, Fashion, Freedom, Friendship, Guilt and Innocence, History, history of ideas, Identity, Ideology, Institutional Power, Jews, life and death struggle, Literature, Love, Male Power, Masculinity, Memoir, Modernism, Philosophy, Political, Political Movements, Power, Psychology, Reductionism, relationships, Roles, Seduction, Social Conventions, Sociobiology, Spirituality, Suffering, Terror, The Examined Life, The Problematic of Men, Theism, Time, twentieth century, Violence, War, Work, Writing, Zeitgeist
Tagged "Confessions of a Young Philosopher", "Conversations with My Father", "The Consolations of Philosophy: Hobbes's Secret; Spinoza's Way" by Henry M. Rosenthal; ed. Abigail L. Rosenthal, 9/11, American culture, archives, biography, blessings, book projects, Confessions of a Young Philosopher, cracking the code, editing, enigma, experience of God, fathers and daughters, genius, Henry M. Rosenthal, High School of Music and Art, historical memoir, Hobbes, Holocaust rescue, intellectual friendships, Islamism, Jews, journals, letters, liberal intellectuals, Lionel Trilling, literary critic, male friendship, New York, New York intellectuals, Partisan Review, personal correspondence, personal God, philosophy, posthumous conversations, posthumous publication, public intellectuals, rationalism, seventeenth century rationalists, Spinoza, Terror, terrorism, theism, theistic experience, victims, Wars of Religion, writing
3 Comments
“Worldliness”
“Worldliness” My father, the late Henry M. Rosenthal, was the antithesis of a worldly man. “He never made a useful friend,” as someone said who was well placed to know. Speaking at his memorial service, a college classmate recalled, “We … Continue reading
Posted in "Absolute Freedom and Terror", Academe, Action, Alienation, Art, Autonomy, Chivalry, Cities, Class, Contemplation, Contradictions, Cool, Courtship, Culture, Desire, dialectic, Erotic Life, Ethics, Evil, Existentialism, Faith, Fashion, Freedom, Friendship, Guilt and Innocence, History, history of ideas, Identity, Ideology, Idolatry, Institutional Power, Jews, Legal Responsibility, life and death struggle, Literature, Love, Male Power, Masculinity, Memoir, Modernism, Philosophy, Poetry, Political, Political Movements, Power, Psychology, Reductionism, relationships, Roles, Seduction, Social Conventions, Sociobiology, Spirituality, Suffering, Terror, The Examined Life, The Problematic of Men, Theism, Time, twentieth century, Work, Writing, Zeitgeist
Tagged "The World of Yesterday", academic politics, accepting praise, accolades, American studies, betrayal, career, careerism, celebrity, clique, collegiality, Columbia class of 1925, cosmopolitanism, David and Jonathan, dishonesty, esteem, ex-friends, friendship, friendships of utility, genius, Germany in the 1930s, happiness, Henry M. Rosenthal, Holocaust, honesty, honor, honors, integrity, intrigue, Lionel Trilling, literary "in" group, literary critic, literary culture, living a lie, male friendship, mundanity, nazis, New York City, philosophers, philosophy, praise, professional sabotage, renown, reputation, savoir faire, sincerity and authenticity, Stefan Zweig, Success, tastemaker, therapeutic riding, truth unvarnished, uncompromised life, Vienna, witness, worldliness
1 Comment