Sam Lasman
LASMAN: Poetry, not politics

I can’t read German, but it’s hard to imagine that Günter Grass’ “What Must Be Said” constitutes striking lyricism in any language. The poem, which […]

LASMAN: Next year in space

This Friday, the world’s Jews begin Passover, the perennially relevant celebration of exodus from Egyptian bondage. Every year provides an array of potential connections, and […]

LASMAN: Dangerous games

While civilians died in Syria and pundits raged over Iran, I was out walking in Rancho San Antonio, 4,000 acres of riparian woods and upland […]

LASMAN: The age of historical ignorance

Yale so venerates written words and old stone that it’s hard to imagine a world that does not accord respect to such relics. Yet cathedral-shaped […]

LASMAN: Acting, nationally

Most of us support free speech and artistic expression. As enlightened, creative and (largely) liberal young people, we value the right of artists to produce […]

LASMAN: The real, complex Iran

Whenever I tell people that I’m studying Persian, the response is often some variation on the same question: Does studying Iran’s language and culture give […]

LASMAN: The Periwinkler’s Dilemma

Despite unseasonably warm weather, the water temperature in the Essex marshes was hovering just above freezing, and slivers of ice floated out with the tide. […]

LASMAN: The social engineering network

Until recently, it was quite easy to declare your public endorsement of rape jokes. You had only to log onto Facebook, navigate to fan pages […]

LASMAN: Revolutions and pacifism

What forms of protest are legitimate? And when does protest become terrorism? Suicide bombing falls firmly on the latter side; roadside picketing, on the former. […]

LASMAN: Political guitar heroes

For many of us, the tag “socially conscious artist” conjures up images of guitar-strumming prophets, crusading documentary filmmakers, and courageous novelists. Yet semantically, that’s not […]

LASMAN: New Year’s narratives

The Jewish High Holidays, which began this week and will end in ten days after The Day of Atonement, have always fascinated me — they […]