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Adam Kirsch: Give Philip Roth Your Prize, You Ignorant Swedes

That’s my summary of this Slate article from literary critic (and recent Disraeli biographer) Adam Kirsch. In the piece, Kirsch takes to task the folks who dole out the Nobel prizes, for their ignorance of American literature, and their anti-Americanism. He also thinks one American writer, in particular, is particularly overdue for a medal.

I should stress that this post’s title in no way reflects my own view of Swedes, who, based on what I’ve been able to glean from my vantage point here in America, seem to be delightful people.

And the Emmy Goes to… Mr. Warmth

Legendary insult comedian Don Rickles took home an Emmy tonight for “Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program” for the documentary “Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project,” which is, of course, about him.

“It’s a mistake,” Rickles said. “I’ve been in the business 55 years and the biggest award I got was an ashtray from the Friar’s in New York.”

Rickles has been on a roll lately. Last year, he came out with a book, titled “Rickles’ Book,” which was, of course, about him. (Notice a pattern here?) It did quite well.

“Five weeks on the New York Times best seller list was quite a treat for me,” the octogenarian funnyman told the Atlantic City Weekly. “I call myself the Jewish Mark Twain. I never wrote anything in my life.”

Former Forward Hand Max Gross Schlubs It Up for All of New York to See

Former Forward hand and “From Schlub to Stud” author Max Gross is flaunting his schlubby ways on WCBS for all of New York to see.

Now, some might be surprised to tune into WCBS and see a schlubby young man with a wild red Jewfro talking up a book with a subtitle like “How to Embrace Your Inner Mensch and Conquer the Big City.” But, as Max notes in his television interview, we are living in a very schlubby era — Seth Rogen, Jack Black, etc. — so it’s not altogether surprising that the mainstream media is taking note.

Still, I would argue that “From Schlub to Stud” has the potential to further raise the profile of this funny Yiddish word. Indeed, judging by the results of a Google search for the word “schlub,” Max may very well be schlubdom’s foremost living exponent.

Awhile back, I blogged about the New York Post article that would turn out to be the genesis moment of Max’s schlubby project.

Full disclosure: I am mentioned briefly in Max’s schlubby book.

Obama Digs Roth, But McCain Prefers Wouk

A few weeks ago, The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg — who has lately established himself as a key contender for the title of Mr. Jewish Journalist — grilled Barack Obama about Israel and other topics of Jewish interest. Now, he covers some of the same ground with John McCain.

Since Obama, in his interview, volunteered that he is a fan of the writers Philip Roth, Leon Uris and David Grossman, Goldberg grills McCain on his Jewish literary tastes. And while the two presidential hopefuls may have very different views on the potential utility of talking to Iran (“you don’t sit down face-to-face with people who are behave the way they do, who are state sponsors of terrorism,” McCain told Goldberg), at least they can agree when it comes to Leon Uris:

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Quizzing Obama on the State of Israel — and the State of His Kishkes

The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg (who in the 1990s wrote for this rag) chatted this weekend with Barack Obama about Israel and Jewish issues.

Goldberg, who recently penned a widely discussed article for the Atlantic looking at Israel’s difficult choices through the prism of the tensions between Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and writer David Grossman, finds that Obama has done some reading on the topic — from Leon Uris to “The Yellow Wind,” Grossman’s 1987 look at life in the West Bank.

Goldberg poses a smart question — one that has also been raised by another smart Jewish journalist — that cuts to the core of Obama’s challenges in the Jewish community. I’m talking about “the kishke question,” the implications of which Goldberg does a good job of summarizing:

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