Non-Fiction

Content type
Collection
Judith Rosebaum Interviews Roger Cohen, 2015

An Interview with Roger Cohen

Judith Rosenbaum

New York Times columnist Roger Cohen sat down with JWA's Executive Director Judith Rosenbaum to discuss his latest book, The Girl from Human Street, a memoir of his mother.

Topics: Non-Fiction

Katya Gibel Mevorach

In her most famous book, Black, Jewish and Interracial: It’s Not the Color of Your Skin but the Race of Your Kin and Other Myths of Identity, anthropologist Katya Gibel Mevorach (nee Azoulay) explored identity politics, “passing” as white, and other social constructs of race.

Death of writer Sarah Brandstein Smith, “Queen of the shundroman"

April 29, 1968
“Sarah B. Smith is the most beloved Jewish newspaperwoman, the first who ever served as a reporter on a Jewish paper, and the one who has triumphantly overcome the misgivings of editors who mistrusted the abilities of a mere woman writer.”
Tara Metal Reads "The Boston Girl"

Announcing the JWA Book Club

Tara Metal

Chances are, no two people reading this post have the same favorite book. From month to month, I don’t even have the same favorite book—my tastes range from nonfiction crime thrillers to mid-century poetry, and hit quite a few unusual notes in between. I seek out novels I can get lost in. I like all kinds of mythology and the occasional graphic novel. Choosing what to read next can be overwhelming and generally, I need a little guidance.

Jane Eisner

In 2008 Jane Eisner became editor-in-chief of the Forward, making her the paper’s first female head in its 111-year history.

Emily Bazelon

From cyberbullying to abortion rights, reporter Emily Bazelon has tackled controversial legal issues for Slate and the New York Times Magazine.

Leslie Feinberg, 1949 - 2014

And in the reflection of the glass, finally, literally and metaphorically, I could see myself, and Leslie, at once. I think I started to understand what I could be in that moment, that I belonged to a proud tradition of Butch women. That there was a place for me in this world. That I could grow up. For the first time, I understood that I was looking at who and what I would become as an adult. It was breathtaking.

Margot Adler, 1946 - 2014

In 1972 she made a deal with WBAI management to get her own free-form live radio show. At the time, WBAI went off the air loosely between 3 or 5 AM and came back on at 7 AM. Margot talked them into giving her the 5–7 AM timeslot and called it Hour of the Wolf after the film by Ingmar Bergman, a phrase which refers to the morning twilight.

Geraldine Brooks

Geraldine Brooks had a stellar career as a foreign correspondent for the Wall Street Journal, but it was her 2005 novel March which won her the Pulitzer Prize.

Bobbi Brown

Tired of the 1980s trends towards gaudy, bright lipstick and eye shadow, Bobbi Brown launched her signature makeup line featuring more natural colors.

Sheryl Sandberg

Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg sparked debate and controversy over women’s opportunities and hurdles in the workforce with her first book, Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead.

Nora Ephron / Lena Dunham

Writer-Directors

Putting Women Onscreen and in the Director's Chair

Dr. Ruth Westheimer / Jaclyn Friedman

Sex Educators

Teaching Women About Their Bodies, Their Rights, and Their Pleasure

Hedy Lamarr / Mayim Bialik

Actress-Scientists

Stars of STEM and Screen

Katha Pollitt

Pro: An Interview with Katha Pollitt

Tara Metal

Is abortion really always tragic? How much has pro-life rhetoric influenced women's attitudes toward abortion?

Miriam Zoila Pérez

As the founder of Radical Doula, Miriam Zoila Perez created a network for birthing coaches to support people of all genders, races, and economic backgrounds through pregnancy, birth, miscarriage, and abortion.

Lena Dunham

Lena Dunham became the first woman to win a Director’s Guild Award for Outstanding Director for a Comedy Series for her HBO series Girls, for which she writes, directs, produces and plays the lead character.

Deb Perelman

Resisting trends towards fussy recipes with complicated instructions and esoteric ingredients, Deb Perelman focused her Smitten Kitchen food blog on “foolproof” recipes that incorporated feedback from online commenters.

Jaclyn Friedman

Jaclyn Friedman voiced new possibilities for sex-positive feminism and a rejection of rape culture as editor of Yes Means Yes: Visions of Female Sexual Power and a World Without Rape.

Birth of novelist Jacqueline Susann

August 20, 1921

Jacqueline Susann was the first writer to have three consecutive novels hit #1 on the New York Times bestseller list.

Death of film critic Judith Crist

August 7, 2012

“The critics who love are the severe ones. We know our relationship must be based on honesty.” - Movie critic Judith Crist

Birth of Esther Broner, co-creator of "The Women’s Haggadah"

July 8, 1927

Esther Broner "made room for us at the table by creating a whole new one—a Seder table at which women’s voices were heard.”

Sandy Sasso

Sandy Eisenberg Sasso was the first woman rabbi ordained by the Reconstructionist movement, which was one of many firsts in her career.

Birth of Cancer Patient Advocate Rose Kushner

June 22, 1929

"We women should be free, knowledgeable, and completely conscious when the time comes for a decision, so that we can make it for ourselves." Cancer patient advocate Rose Kushner

Deborah Dash Moore receives the Jewish Cultural Achievement Award

June 10, 2013

"No area offered greater freedom and challenge than American Jewish history… It has been a great voyage.” - Deborah Dash Moore

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