Lev Raphael's Blog, page 54

Two Sculptures That Changed My Life in London

I grew up in a city of great museums, New York, and felt intimately close to many of them from a very early age because of countless school visits and trips with my parents. But it was only on a recent visit to London that I realized something extraordinary: art can heal me.



I was in London teaching in a summer abroad program for Michigan State University and had marvelous, hardworking, creative, and witty students. The two classes were small which made for an easy bond to develop among us, an...

Healed by Art in London

I grew up in a city of great museums, New York, and felt intimately close to many of them from a very early age because of countless school visits and trips with my parents. But it was only on a recent visit to London that I realized something extraordinary: art can heal me.



I was in London teaching in a summer abroad program for Michigan State University and had marvelous, hardworking, creative, and witty students. The two classes were small which made for an easy bond to develop among us, an...

16 Reasons Why I Love to Teach Creative Writing

I went to Fordham University at Lincoln Center in Manhattan because I had heard about a young, amazing creative writing teacher there. It was the smartest decision of my life. I took every course she taught, writing or literature, and she mentored me both as a writer and a teacher.



Her style was remarkable: She was funny, relaxed, and had a high tolerance for what might seem like chaos to some people. I found her consistently, quietly determined to bring out the best in her students. She was n...

Do College Towns Really Need Tanks to Keep Them Safe?

The people of Davis, California don't think so, as The New York Times reports this week. Their police department is returning the Pentagon's gift of a "mine-resistant, ambush-protected" motorized tank (MRAP). Here's what one of these beasts looks like:







And here's what the Marines say they're good for:

With V-shaped hulls, raised chassis and armored plating, the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicle (MRAP) has proven to be the single most effective counter to Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs...

Ridley Scott Disses the Jews

Everyone's talking about Scott's new epic Exodus and how the leads are all white and that this is another sign of film racism when it comes to Biblical story-telling.



But nobody's noticed the glaring casting slap in the face to world Jewry and Jewish history: Scott has cast Christian Bale as Moses. Christian Bale! Could it be any more offensive?







Where was his head at? What about all the amazing Jewish actors on screen today? What about Jonah Hill? Who says Moses had to be svelte? And what abou...

The Bad Review (Of My Own Book) That Made Me Laugh

I dreamed of being a writer from about second grade on, when I wrote my first short story. It was really short, about three or four paragraphs that crept in laborious, painstaking print across the page. That little epic is now in The Lev Raphael Papers at Michigan State University for future scholars of my work to glean infinite meaning from, or just say, "Oh, cute!" and move on.



Whenever I imagined the writing life, I didn't expect my work would ever be purchased by any university's Special...

One Key Thing Writing Teachers Never Told Me and Probably Won't Tell You

I taught at a Michigan State University study abroad program in London this summer and had some superb guest speakers. Val McDermid wowed my writing students for her candor, especially when she told them about the lucky breaks she'd had in her career. "There are writers who are as good as I am," she said, "they just haven't been as lucky." An international best-selling author, she made it very clear that even though talent and hard work were essential, so was luck.



I thought about that when re...

Too Many American Cops View Citizens as "The Enemy"--And Washington's to Blame

Washington is having second thoughts about its giant giveaway of military grade equipment to local police forces. But it may be too late to reverse a decade of bad policy and bad thinking.



Because too many American cops already think of citizens as "The Enemy." And its not just black citizens. All citizens. Skin color doesn't matter.



A sea change took place over the last decade that was invisible to most Americans. Across the country, in big cities and small towns, police forces gradually turn...

America's Cops View Citizens as "The Enemy"

That's right. And not just black citizens. All citizens. Skin color doesn't matter.



A sea change has been taking place over the last decade that's been invisible to most Americans. Across the country, in big cities and small towns, police forces have been turning into armies. It's taken the events in Ferguson to blow things wide open.



The fancy word is "militarization," but it sounds too clinical for what's been going on. Even before 9/11, the Pentagon was lavishing cops in every state with mil...

The Police Now Sees Citizens as The Enemy

That's right. And not just black citizens. All citizens. Skin color doesn't matter.



A sea change has been taking place over the last decade that's been invisible to most Americans. Across the country, in big cities and small towns, police forces have been turning into armies. It's taken the events in Ferguson to blow things wide open.



The fancy word is "militarization," but it sounds too clinical for what's been going on. Even before 9/11, the Pentagon was lavishing cops in every state with mil...