24. A Small Iron Door in the Wall. 1. Imagine You ; 2. The Evil Commas ; 3. A Fortress Named College -- Part II. Serendipity, 1964: 4. The Sudden Offer ; 5. Funny People ; 6. To Laugh or Not to Laugh -- Part III. On a Roll, 1964-70: 7. The First Targets ; 8. My Pen Name ; 9. How to Win Them Over ; 10. A Mosquito in Amber ; 11. Apples of Discord -- Part IV. In Hot Water, 1971: 12. The Scatterbrain Debacle ; 13. Who Has Done It? ; 14. Who's Ordered It ; 15. Crocodile Responds ; 16. In a "Domestic" Way ; 17. The Pecking Order -- Part V. Not for Want of Trying, 1971-73: 18. Writing between the Lines ; 19. Slippery Slope ; 20. For the Desk Drawer ; 21. A Jewish Writer? -- Part VI. Jumping into the Abyss, 1974: 22. Flipping a Coin ; 23. Bless Stanley Kramer! ; 24. A Small Iron Door in the Wall.
Summary:
"Emil Draitser dreamed of becoming a writer. Born to a working-class Jewish family in the USSR on the eve of World War II, he came of age during the Brezhnev era, often considered the nadir of Soviet culture. Bored with an engineering job, he found refuge in writing, attracting the attention of a Moscow editor who encouraged him to try his hand at satire. He spent the next decade contributing to Crocodile, the major Party-sponsored magazine known for its sharp-tongued essays and caustic cartoons. After he got in trouble for criticizing an important Soviet official, he began weighing the heavy decision of whether to emigrate. In this captivating memoir, Draitser explores what it means to be a satirist in a country lacking freedom of expression. His experience provides a window into the lives of a generation of artists who were allowed to poke fun and make readers laugh, as long as they toed a narrow, state-approved line. In the Jaws of the Crocodile also includes several of Draitser's wry pieces translated into English for the first time." --Amazon.com.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.