Lesley Hazleton
Encyclopedia
Lesley Hazleton is an award-winning British-American writer whose work focuses on the intersection of politics, religion, and history, especially in the Middle East. She reported from Israel for Time
, and has written on the Middle East for numerous publications including The New York Times
, The New York Review of Books
, Harper's, The Nation
, and The New Republic
.
Hazleton was born in England, and became a United States citizen in 1994. She was based in Jerusalem from 1966 to 1979 and in New York City from 1979 to 1992, when she moved to her current home in Seattle WA, originally to get her pilot's license. She has two degrees in psychology (B.A. Manchester University, M.A. Hebrew University of Jerusalem).
She has described herself as "a Jew who once seriously considered becoming a rabbi, a former convent schoolgirl who daydreamed about being a nun, an agnostic with a deep sense of religious mystery though no affinity for organized religion". "Everything is paradox," she has said. "The danger is one-dimensional thinking".
In April 2010, she began blogging as The Accidental Theologist, focusing on religion, politics, and existence. She is currently working on a new biography of Muhammad
, to be published by Riverhead/Viking in 2012.
Her other books include:
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
, and has written on the Middle East for numerous publications including The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, The New York Review of Books
The New York Review of Books
The New York Review of Books is a fortnightly magazine with articles on literature, culture and current affairs. Published in New York City, it takes as its point of departure that the discussion of important books is itself an indispensable literary activity...
, Harper's, The Nation
The Nation
The Nation is the oldest continuously published weekly magazine in the United States. The periodical, devoted to politics and culture, is self-described as "the flagship of the left." Founded on July 6, 1865, It is published by The Nation Company, L.P., at 33 Irving Place, New York City.The Nation...
, and 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...
.
Hazleton was born in England, and became a United States citizen in 1994. She was based in Jerusalem from 1966 to 1979 and in New York City from 1979 to 1992, when she moved to her current home in Seattle WA, originally to get her pilot's license. She has two degrees in psychology (B.A. Manchester University, M.A. Hebrew University of Jerusalem).
She has described herself as "a Jew who once seriously considered becoming a rabbi, a former convent schoolgirl who daydreamed about being a nun, an agnostic with a deep sense of religious mystery though no affinity for organized religion". "Everything is paradox," she has said. "The danger is one-dimensional thinking".
In April 2010, she began blogging as The Accidental Theologist, focusing on religion, politics, and existence. She is currently working on a new biography of Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
, to be published by Riverhead/Viking in 2012.
Speeches
There exists a video including Lesley's thoughts about Koran, which was recorded at a TEDx conference in Seattle Washington, October 2010. "Lesley Hazleton sat down one day to read the Koran. And what she found -- as a non-Muslim, a self-identified "tourist" in the Islamic holy book—wasn't what she expected. With serious scholarship and warm humor, Hazleton shares the grace, flexibility and mystery she found, in this myth-debunking talk from TEDxRainier."Books
On Middle East culture, history, politics, and religion:- After the Prophet: The Epic Story of the Shia-Sunni Split (Finalist: 2010 PEN-USA book award.)
- Jezebel: The Untold Story of the Bible's Harlot Queen (Finalist: 2008 Washington Book Award.)
- Mary: A Flesh-and-Blood Biography of the Virgin Mother (Winner: 2005 Washington Book Award.)
- Jerusalem, Jerusalem: A Memoir of War and Peace, Passion and Politics (Winner: 1987 American Jewish Committee/Present Tense Book Award).
- Where Mountains Roar: a Personal Report from the Sinai
- Israeli Women: The Reality Behind the Myths
Her other books include:
- England, Bloody England: An Expatriate's Return
- Confessions of a Fast Woman
- Driving to Detroit: An Automotive Odyssey
External links
- Who is the AT? The Accidental Theologist, at her web accidentaltheologist.com
- Lesley Hazleton: Writer, on TED.com
- Lesley Hazleton: On reading the Koran, a TEDx Talk video (9:34 min), October 2010, on TED.com