COMMON MAN, MYTHIC VISION:
The Paintings of Ben Shahn
On The Bookshelf
JULY 25- OCTOBER 31
Jewish authors tackle sex.
-,,•-
the book, in bed."
Sexy or not, the people of the book
prove wonderful bedfellows; with
Philip Roth, Isaac Bashevis Singer and
BRIAN SELFON
Saul Bellow all between the same
Special to the Jewish News
sheets (of paper), how could you go
wrong?
icture this: a couple of Jews hav-
Although 26 of the 27 authors
ing sex. If the image strikes you
included in the anthology are, in
as shameful, nauseating or laughably
fact, Jewish, Bukiet suggests that it
improbable, don't worry — you're not
is the stories that give Neurotica a
alone.
Jewish- flavor.
But why does
"Maybe it's the
sex stir up such
ability — or
negative feelings in
the necessity
us? Jews have been
— to see the
having sex for
tragic and the
/
some 6,000 years.
comic as a sin-
It is something
gle rather than
that every genera-
a two-sided
tion must learn on
coin that
its own and yet
makes particu-
something that
lar stories
connects every
intrinsically
generation to the
Jewish more so
Torah (think of all
than the
the begetting!), to
author's last
the history and
name or native
future of a people.
soil," he
3 ESVIStI WRET R S ON SEX
It is the source
writes.
of families and
Neurotica
synagogue congre-
so abounds
gations, of joy and
with the
celebration, of
"Neurotica" Editor Melvin
humor and
frustration and suf- Jules Bukiet: "Witness the
anguish
fering. What
people of the book, in bed."
that Bukiet
could be more
speaks of
Jewish than that?
that one
Before you say
cannot read it without feeling suffused
General Tso's chicken, take a look at
with Jewish culture. Whereas sex is the
Neurotica: Jewish Writers on Sex (WW.
topic and the page-turner, Jewish cul-
Norton; $26.95). The bewildering
ture, traditions and attitudes are the
notion of Jewish sex (which can be
background, the foreground and
something entirely different from
everything in between; they are the
kosher sex) is what binds together the
raw material from which these works
play, the varied short stories and the
are constructed.
novel excerpts that constitute
Many of the stories utilize and
Neurotica.
satirize stereotypes of Jews. In "The
Melvin Jules Bukiet, the editor
Whore of Mensa," the hilarious
who selected these 27 works and
short story by Woody Allen that
who is a distinguished author in his
opens Neurotica, the title character
own right, welcomes the reader to
describes herself as a caricature of a
the mindscape of Neurotica in his
New York Jew: "Central Park West
introduction: "Witness the people of
upbringing. Socialist summer
Brian Selfon, a resident of White Lake
camps, Brandeis."
Township, is a senior at Brown University.
The delirious and delightful
Neurotica: Jewish
Writers on Sex
^•-
P
BEN S H A H N championed social justice and made paintings that communicate
the shared experiences and concerns of humanity. His art expresses our joys and
sorrows, reflects his Jewish heritage, and celebrates the strength of the human spirit.
Saturdays, October 16, 23 & 30
Class: Realism in America: Art, Politics and the Works Progress Administration,
10 a.m.-noon
Fee: $30; DIA members & seniors $24; students $12.
Must pre-register. Call 313-833-4249.
This exhibition is sponsored by Ernst &Young LLP. Major support was received through the generosity of The Henry Luce
Foundation. Additional fimding was provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. Organized by The
Jewish Museum, NY.
In Detroit the exhibition is made possible with support from the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural
Affairs and the City of Detroit.
5200 Woodward Ave., Detroit • 313-833-7900 • wwwdia.org
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