This New York Times book critic has many off-the-job accomplishments: “Learning how to eat chicken feet and love them is one thing I’m really proud of.” The author of The Upstairs Deli expands our capacity for joy—in reading, in eating, in life. Produced with Rizzoli bookstore. Continue reading »
Author Archives: Randy Cohen
468: Joshua Jay
This magician had mixed feelings when he figured out how a colleague performed an illusion. “It was no less amazing to me when I knew how it was done, but it was disappointing.” The austere joy of knowledge or the sensuous pleasure of mystery: a magician’s dilemma. Produced with Lori Schwarz for KGB Bar’s Red … Continue reading »
467: Fernanda Chandoha
Her father, Walter, was the grand master of cat photography. “Growing up,” she says, “when you told somebody what your parents did, it was just like: what?” Presented with Fotografiska, where his work can be seen through January in the exhibition Best in Show, Pets in Contemporary Photography. Continue reading »
466: Timothy Goodman
In addition to his work for corporations (Nike, Apple) and non-profits, this graphic designer documents everything, not just as a way to record an event but as an act of meditation: “Documenting allows me to slow it down and to sit in that space a little longer.” Produced with the Type Directors Club, part of … Continue reading »
465: Ken Smith
Speaking at—and of—Gansevoort Plaza, a public space he designed, landscape architect Ken Smith considers the implications of the past as well as the needs of the present: “Land has memory. It’s really a crime to erase the memory of a place.” Produced with Meatpacking-District BID. Continue reading »
464: Bruce Adolphe
This composer, mastermind of “Piano Puzzlers,” feared premature death: “Schubert died at 31, Mozart died at 35, Gershwin died at 39. I thought because my father died when he was 55, that I would, too.” A conversation at Steinway Hall on fathers, sons, and the neuroscience of creativity. Continue reading »
463: Alan Shayne
As young actor—he’s now 97— he studied with Stella Adler along with Marlon Brando, (“He was a great actor but an impossible person.”) a saga he recounts in The Star Dressing Room. One of them became the head of Warner Brothers Television, the other became Marlon Brando. Photo courtesy of John Ekizian. Continue reading »
462: Hubby Jenkins
This Grammy-nominated musician, celebrated for his work with the Carolina Chocolate Drops and Rhiannon Giddens, sums himself up: “I play the banjo, talk about Black people, and really love Star Trek.” Hubby in a nutshell at Terra Blues. Continue reading »
461: Elizabeth Rush
Her book The Quickening recounts an Antarctic expedition to Thwaites Glacier, which holds enough ice to raise sea levels three feet. “It’s this otherworldly being that has the power to shape us.” But, she urges, please avoid its nickname, “Doomsday Glacier.” That’s just mean. Produced with Orion magazine. Continue reading »
460: Lynn Nottage, Jonathan Lethem
Lifelong friends, these writers grew up on the same block. His newest book is Brooklyn Crime Novel; she is developing the Imitation of Life musical with John Legend and Liesl Tommy. Presented with The New York Women’s Foundation: advancing economic, gender, and racial justice for women and families. Continue reading »
459: Richard Russo
A friend of his wife gave his novel Empire Falls to Ivanka Trump. Her response: “This is a book about poor people. Why would I want to read a book about poor people?” Some bad reviews are better than good reviews. Presented with the Center for Fiction and the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music. Continue reading »
458: Elizabeth Alexander
This poet, president of the Mellon foundation, quotes June Jordan on the question activists should ask: “Where is the love? What are we moving toward, not just what are we fighting against?” Poetry, politics, and why your Thanksgiving dinner should include lasagna. Made Eritrean style. Continue reading »