All articles from Pens and Poison
Literature & Zionism | Ted Goldstein
Welcome back to the Pens and Poison Podcast!This is not your ordinary literature podcast. Join me as I explore the state of humanities education, the publishing industry, and the literary world at large through a series of spicy interviews, hot takes, and literary ramblings.On today's episode, Liza
Tertius Lydgate and the Birth of the Modern Doctor
This essay originally appeared in The Tearoom by .I've never liked doctors. As a writer, I am both overly sensitive to my own mortality and something of a hypochondriac; I find most American physicians either unpleasant or downright terrifying, and I'll avoid doctors at all costs until a visit becom
No, Cartman, Wokeness Isn’t Dead
The culture war is over. According to Eric Cartman, that is.Last week's season premiere of South Park had everyone's favorite antisemitic "fat f*ck" Eric Cartman in a pickle: with "wokeness" on its way out, there would be no more liberals to make fun of—and thereby no more point in living.While I us
Masha Gessen’s Gross Betrayal of the Russian-Jewish Legacy
This essay originally appeared in Judean People's Front in April 2025.On the morning of October 8th, my dad sent a text to our family group chat:Kids. I never emphasized our Jewish identity, not until today. Jews are not always right, but millennium after millennium, they followed the light and thei
Illicit Kingdom
Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedDeep beyond the mountaintops Where the lilacs banter with the breezes I rather like this Tyrian allegiance There are couples with their joint umbrellas Waterfalls reflecting turquoise Colors seeping into trees The dawn's collect