Nathan Hentoff

From Philosopedia

Hentoff, Nathan Irving (10 June 1925— )

Hentoff, a writer,historian, editor, jazz advocate, and columnist from 1957 to the end of 2008 for The Village Voice, wrote The Collected Essays of A. J. Muste (1966), Black Anti-Semitism and Jewish Racism (1970), Blues for Charles Darwin (1982), and numerous articles in various journals.

He attended Boston Latin School, received his B.A. with honors from Northeastern University, did graduate work at Harvard, and was a Fulbright fellow in 1950 at the Sorbonne in Paris.

Difficult to categorize - Duke Ellington once advised him to avoid being pigeon-holed, saying "Never get caught up in categories. That'll imprison you" - Hentoff nevertheless has called himself "a member of the Proud and Ancient Order of Stiff-Necked Jewish Atheists."

Similarly, in an article titled "Pro Choice Bigots," Hentoff described himself as "a Jewish, atheist, civil libertarian, left-wing pro-lifer," suggesting that his interest is cultural Judaism but that his outlook is non-supernaturalistic.

Hentoff was interviewed in 2009 when 83 by Clyde Haberman in an article, "Having Writ for 50 Years, Hentoff Moves On From the Voice." Described are his quarrels with many, including the American Civil Liberties Union, along with his views against censorship, against abortion, against capital punishment, and against voluntary euthanasia. But still using an IBM Selectric III typewriter, he champions the Constitution and freedom of speech. His muses, he told Haberman, are George Seldes and I. F. Stone.

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