Leon Wieseltier
Encyclopedia
Leon Wieseltier (ˈwiːzəltɪər; b. June 14, 1952) is an American
writer
, critic
, and magazine editor. Since 1983 he has been the literary editor of The New Republic
.
Wieseltier was born in Brooklyn
, New York
and attended the Yeshiva of Flatbush, Columbia University
, Oxford University, and Harvard University
, and was a member of Harvard's Society of Fellows from 1979 to 1982.
Wieseltier has published several books of fiction and non-fiction. Kaddish, a National Book Award
finalist in 2000, is a genre-blending meditation on the Jewish prayers of mourning. Against Identity is a collection of thoughts about the modern notion of identity.
Wieseltier also edited and introduced a volume of works by Lionel Trilling
entitled The Moral Obligation to Be Intelligent and wrote the foreword to Ann Weiss's The Last Album: Eyes from the Ashes of Auschwitz-Birkenau, a collection of personal photographs that serves as a paean to pre-Shoah
innocence. Wieseltier's translations of the works of Israel
i poet Yehuda Amichai
have appeared in The New Republic and The New Yorker
.
During Wieseltier's tenure as literary editor of The New Republic
, many of his signed and unsigned writings have appeared in the magazine. He is a member of the Editorial Board of the Jewish Review of Books
.
Conservative columnist Joshua Muravchik
calls Wieseltier a "liberal thinker," and journalist George Packer
calls him one of the "ideas men of the liberal intelligentsia."
Wieseltier served on the Committee for the Liberation of Iraq
. "I am in no sense a neoconservative, as many of my neoconservative adversaries will attest," Wieseltier wrote in a May 2007 letter to Judge Reggie Walton
, seeking leniency for his friend Scooter Libby.
In reference to being called a 'Jew-baiter' by Wieseltier, Andrew Sullivan
has said that 'Wieseltier is a connoisseur and cultivator of personal hatred' – referring to a dislike based on 'tedious' causes that Wieseltier allegedly has held regarding him for a long time.
Wieseltier appeared in one episode of the fifth season of The Sopranos
, playing "Stuart Silverman," a character whom Wieseltier described as "a derangingly materialistic co-religionist who dreams frantically of 'Wedding of the Week' and waits a whole year for some stupid car in which he can idle for endless hours in traffic east of Quogue every weekend of every summer, the vulgar Zegna-swaddled brother of a Goldman Sachs mandarin whose son's siman tov u'mazel tov is provided by a pulchritudinous and racially diverse bunch of shellfish-eating chicks in tight off-the-shoulder gowns."
Wieseltier used the German word "Begriff" in his defense of a negative review of Jonathan Franzen's "Freedom", writing: "...a retaliation, or, if you will pardon the Begriff, a negation of a negation."
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
, critic
Critic
A critic is anyone who expresses a value judgement. Informally, criticism is a common aspect of all human expression and need not necessarily imply skilled or accurate expressions of judgement. Critical judgements, good or bad, may be positive , negative , or balanced...
, and magazine editor. Since 1983 he has been the literary editor of The New Republic
The New Republic
The magazine has also published two articles concerning income inequality, largely criticizing conservative economists for their attempts to deny the existence or negative effect increasing income inequality is having on the United States...
.
Wieseltier was born in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and attended the Yeshiva of Flatbush, Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, Oxford University, and Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, and was a member of Harvard's Society of Fellows from 1979 to 1982.
Wieseltier has published several books of fiction and non-fiction. Kaddish, a National Book Award
National Book Award
The National Book Awards are a set of American literary awards. Started in 1950, the Awards are presented annually to American authors for literature published in the current year. In 1989 the National Book Foundation, a nonprofit organization which now oversees and manages the National Book...
finalist in 2000, is a genre-blending meditation on the Jewish prayers of mourning. Against Identity is a collection of thoughts about the modern notion of identity.
Wieseltier also edited and introduced a volume of works by Lionel Trilling
Lionel Trilling
Lionel Trilling was an American literary critic, author, and teacher. With wife Diana Trilling, he was a member of the New York Intellectuals and contributor to the Partisan Review. Although he did not establish a school of literary criticism, he is one of the leading U.S...
entitled The Moral Obligation to Be Intelligent and wrote the foreword to Ann Weiss's The Last Album: Eyes from the Ashes of Auschwitz-Birkenau, a collection of personal photographs that serves as a paean to pre-Shoah
Shoah
Shoah may refer to:*The Holocaust*Shoah , documentary directed by Claude Lanzmann * A Shoah Foundation...
innocence. Wieseltier's translations of the works of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i poet Yehuda Amichai
Yehuda Amichai
Yehuda Amichai was an Israeli poet. Amichai is considered by many, both in Israel and internationally, as Israel's greatest modern poet. He was also one of the first to write in colloquial Hebrew....
have appeared in The New Republic and The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
.
During Wieseltier's tenure as literary editor of The New Republic
The New Republic
The magazine has also published two articles concerning income inequality, largely criticizing conservative economists for their attempts to deny the existence or negative effect increasing income inequality is having on the United States...
, many of his signed and unsigned writings have appeared in the magazine. He is a member of the Editorial Board of the Jewish Review of Books
Jewish Review of Books
The Jewish Review of Books is a quarterly magazine with articles on literature, culture and current affairs from a Jewish perspective. It is published in New York City....
.
Conservative columnist Joshua Muravchik
Joshua Muravchik
Joshua Muravchik is a scholar formerly at the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research and now a fellow at the School of Advanced International Studies of Johns Hopkins University....
calls Wieseltier a "liberal thinker," and journalist George Packer
George Packer
George Packer is an American journalist, novelist and playwright.-Biography:Packer's parents, Nancy Packer and Herbert Packer, were both academics at Stanford University; his maternal grandfather was George Huddleston, a congressman from Alabama. His sister, Ann Packer, is also a writer...
calls him one of the "ideas men of the liberal intelligentsia."
Wieseltier served on the Committee for the Liberation of Iraq
Committee for the Liberation of Iraq
The Committee for the Liberation of Iraq was described as a "non-governmental organization" which described itself as a "distinguished group of Americans" who wanted to "free Iraq from Saddam Hussein"...
. "I am in no sense a neoconservative, as many of my neoconservative adversaries will attest," Wieseltier wrote in a May 2007 letter to Judge Reggie Walton
Reggie Walton
Reggie Barnett Walton is a federal judge on the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.-Early life and education :...
, seeking leniency for his friend Scooter Libby.
Criticism
Wieseltier was a frequent target of satire monthly Spy Magazine, which often derided his analyses of pop culture as comically pretentious, and mocked him as "'Leon Vee-ZEL-tee-AY'" who "jealously guards his highbrow credentials while wearing a lowbrow heart on his sleeve." His perceived tendency to name-drop references to high culture, politics and philosophy in inappropriate contexts has also come under criticism.In reference to being called a 'Jew-baiter' by Wieseltier, Andrew Sullivan
Andrew Sullivan
Andrew Michael Sullivan is an English author, editor, political commentator and blogger. He describes himself as a political conservative. He has focused on American political life....
has said that 'Wieseltier is a connoisseur and cultivator of personal hatred' – referring to a dislike based on 'tedious' causes that Wieseltier allegedly has held regarding him for a long time.
Wieseltier appeared in one episode of the fifth season of The Sopranos
The Sopranos
The Sopranos is an American television drama series created by David Chase that revolves around the New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster Tony Soprano and the difficulties he faces as he tries to balance the often conflicting requirements of his home life and the criminal organization he heads...
, playing "Stuart Silverman," a character whom Wieseltier described as "a derangingly materialistic co-religionist who dreams frantically of 'Wedding of the Week' and waits a whole year for some stupid car in which he can idle for endless hours in traffic east of Quogue every weekend of every summer, the vulgar Zegna-swaddled brother of a Goldman Sachs mandarin whose son's siman tov u'mazel tov is provided by a pulchritudinous and racially diverse bunch of shellfish-eating chicks in tight off-the-shoulder gowns."
Wieseltier used the German word "Begriff" in his defense of a negative review of Jonathan Franzen's "Freedom", writing: "...a retaliation, or, if you will pardon the Begriff, a negation of a negation."