I would forge Borges. The English translations that is. Very distinct and probably very difficult. Also, thankfully - very short

Posted by Vipul, 7:05 a.m. Monday, August 11 2008 Permalink

I get that Lee Israel has no conscience. But why should anyone else care about this trashy common criminal? The rest of us are living in a world with morals, aren't we? This is a woman who stole a large number of irreplaceable documents from libraries. They were entrusted to libraries to serve the common goal of scholarship and learning. By stealing these documents, she has stolen part of the cultural patrimony that belongs to all of us. The crime of forgery, which is another part of her history, is also far from "larky." What she did is steal from unsuspecting people, and that is wrong. It's not a joke. Somebody got stuck with the forgeries, and I'm sure she wouldn't be so cavalier if someone did that to her. I'm not so disgusted by her--she exhibits the classic behavior of a conscienceless addict to alcohol--as I am at Simon and Schuster and the New York Times and other media outlets. She may not know what she did wrong, but they should.

Posted by Selena, 5:09 p.m. Monday, August 11 2008 Permalink

Selena, you couldn't have expressed my thoughts better. This is the second time on an NPR program that I've heard to this poor imitation of an invertebrate express her non-regret about her criminal past and profit from her torid little tell all. The NYTimes did call it a good read. Geesh is that the only criterion that determines what books should be pushed. I guess NPR fears the competition from TMZ, Access Hollywood and Inside Edition. Sad.

Posted by Rick Evans, 8:39 a.m. Tuesday, August 12 2008 Permalink

Your self-righteous sanctimoniousness aside, Simon & Shuster publshed Lee Israel's book because Israel, a gifted humorist,has a unique voice, tells a fascinating story, and is, to my mind, a national treasure.

Posted by John Hazelcorn, 1 p.m. Friday, August 15 2008 Permalink

The righteous indignation of the previous correspondents aside, Simon & Schuster published Israel's memoir because she is a hilarious, gifted, important writer. Flawed maybe, but what a woman ... a national treasure!.

Posted by John Hazelcorn, 1:03 p.m. Friday, August 15 2008 Permalink

People are picking on Lee Israel too much. Merchants who spend so much time buying and selling letters written by Dorothy Parker are people with issues, too. I love the words Ms. Parker actually wrote, but I have accepted that she passed away 41 years ago. She did not comment on Neil Armstrong's walk on the moon. She missed Watergate. What do Lee Israel's erstwhile victims hope to accomplish? They were / are so in love with those dead people (Parker, Noel Coward, Edna Ferber, etc.) that they act like they can revive the legendary person with each purchase and sale. In the early 1990s these New York literary "dealers" were so absorbed in fantasy and "what if" that they made themselves sitting ducks for Lee Israel's tricks. Just because Lee broke the law and they didn't doesn't mean they are mentally healthy people. They are worse than Trekkies. At least Trekkies like something that millions of other people like, and Gene Roddenberry's death hardly ruined it. Who likes the anticipation of Dorothy Parker saying something she's never said before? A person with issues, that's who. Lee Israel paid her debt to society a long time ago. Now is the time for those memorabilia dealers to accept that Dorothy Parker hasn't said anything since 1967. You grieve over that and you're a sitting duck.

Posted by Eric Paddon, 9:13 p.m. Friday, September 26 2008 Permalink