Editor's Message
The lessons of 9/11?
It goes without saying that 9/11 was the worst day in the history of our city. It should go without saying that mass tragedies are not to be treated as golden opportunities for political gain. But the Bush gang is not one to pass up a chance to strike gold. Bush and the Neo-Cons used 9/11 as the reason for starting a war that they had been plotting since the late 1990s, and various opinion polls continue to show that a majority of Americans—and an even higher ratio of U.S. soldiers—erroneously believe that Iraq was somehow involved in the World Trade Center attacks. Our city has managed to recover in five years since the twin towers fell, but in Baghdad and elsewhere in Iraq, there’s no end to the chaos and destruction in sight.
All of us who lived here in New York City during 9/11 will never forget the horror of that day. No matter where you went, you couldn’t escape the smoke or the stench of burnt metal and death emanating from Ground Zero. I haven’t been to Baghdad, but from all accounts, the landscape is filled with similarly terrible, or terribly similar, places. It’s a city where even many Iraqi soldiers dare not tread. Yet while mosques and markets detonate, the Green Zone is a big frat party. And I think to myself, what a wonderful world.
How is the madness in Iraq going to end? The Bush gang seems not to care. Joe Lieberman—warmly embraced by Mayor Bloomberg, and by Newark Mayor Cory Booker—has no qualms about continuing the U.S. occupation of Iraq. Many actual Democrats, including Hillary Clinton and Chuck Schumer, don’t seem to mind, either. How many of the billions of dollars spent on the war could be fighting poverty in the U.S., or rebuilding post-Katrina New Orleans? Or channeled towards a Marshall Plan for the Middle East? I’m not sure who has the answers to such questions, because no one in power is even asking them. But of this much I am certain: I do not wish to visit the horrors in any way similar to those we experienced on 9/11 on any city or people in the world.
Now, some much happier notes. We are pleased to announce the publication of The Brooklyn Rail Fiction Anthology (Hanging Loose Press), a reflection of the stellar editorship of our fiction god, Donald Breckenridge. Come celebrate with us at Supreme Trading in Williamsburg on Thursday, Sept. 21st (for details, see the ad in this issue’s fiction section). And by all means take note of the all-star lineup (listed on the back cover of this issue) for our art auction on October 2nd at James Cohan Gallery in Chelsea. And check out our 9/11 reading and town hall as well as our next “Rant Rhapsody” evening (Sept. 24) at the Bowery Poetry Club (see p. 3). So much to celebrate this month, indeed—and I didn’t even include my 40th birthday….but on behalf of us, we send our belated wishes to Dr. Lilian Milgram Schapiro on her 104th Birthday.
RECOMMENDED ARTICLES
Oliver Husain and Kerstin Schroedinger’s DNCB–A History of Irritation
By Daniella SanaderSEPT 2023 | Art Books
The first few printed lines of Oliver Husain and Kerstin Schroedinger’s DNCB – A History of Irritation describe a 1987 archival photograph as if from a sideways glance, peripheral details coming into focus before its core subject can be fully taken in. The paragraph goes on to articulate the scene in full: two white men are seated in a San Francisco apartment.
Lhasa City Series
By Droma YangzomAPRIL 2023 | Critics Page
I wouldn't be surprised if Lhasa, Tibet’s capital city, is one of the fastest changing cities in the world. Whenever I go back, I’m astonished to see all the changes. Sometimes I feel as if I can’t recognize my own city.
Han Kang’s Greek Lessons
By Cat WoodsMAY 2023 | Books
Greek Lessons may not leave readers with a greater understanding of the archaic language, but it will, hopefully, imbue us with a greater respect for the many ways we communicate beyond sound and noise, and how complicated and unifying it is to be fallibly human.
from City of Blows
By Tim Blake NelsonFEB 2023 | Fiction
Those familiar with Tim Blake Nelson's work in Coen brothers films, the Watchmen series, or last year's Old Henry, will immediately understand that this novel's depictions of Hollywood machinations are of a higher caliber than those in any other literary work that's attempted to depict that world. City of Blows abounds in the economy and fluidity that accompanies true authority—seen in this description of a producer: “One of the biggest pricks in LA. But he gets his movies made. Directors rarely work for him twice.” What's less expected is Nelson’s investigation of the relationship between insecurity and toxicity, seen in Weinstein-esque predators but also applicable to masculinity at large. The psychological motivations and character examinations develop City of Blows from a roman à clef to a work far more universal.
