Elizabeth Kiem

TMN Contributing Writer Elizabeth Kiem reads and writes in Brooklyn.

The Babysitter

The kids are asleep upstairs, and the sitter waits alone in a darkened house—and then the phone rings. If you think you know what happens next, think again. THE WRITERS finish the story. (Spoofs & Satire | October 30, 2009)

Colonel Muammar Gaddafi Has a Cold

Experts answer what they know. The Non-Expert answers anything. This week, ELIZABETH KIEM consults JOSEPH PATRICK, an editor at the United Nations, to help translate a reader’s garbled query. (The Non-Expert | October 9, 2009)

Reading With Scissors

If not for a tragic car accident in 2001, W.G. Sebald would be celebrating his senior citizenship next week. ELIZABETH KIEM recalls her obsessive introduction to the author’s unclassifiable genre. (Personal Essays | May 13, 2009)

Gogol’s Portraits

Though his hair frequently resembled mid-’70s Rob Reiner, his gaze was more erratic. On the occasion of Gogol’s 200th birthday, ELIZABETH KIEM tracks the evolution of his visage. (Profiles | April 1, 2009)

One Spring Day

As winter wanes, everyone grows tired of the cold and damp, whether they live in San Francisco, Austin, or London. A day in the life of TMN’S EDITORS & WRITERS on the first day of spring. (Profiles | March 23, 2009)

An Evening With the Twelve Colonies

On Tuesday, post-apocalyptic refugees from Battlestar Galactica—which airs its final episode tonight—spent an evening at the U.N. swapping war stories with rights activists. It was a convincing trailer, writes ELIZABETH KIEM, even for the uninitiated. (New York, New York | March 20, 2009)

The Spine of Port-au-Prince

Following last Friday’s heartbreaking 93 deaths, another Haitian school collapsed yesterday, injuring nine. ELIZABETH KIEM shows what street-level looks like in Petionville. (Letters From Haiti | November 13, 2008)

Kingsbridge Road, 4 Train

Once clear of Yankee Stadium, the 4 train runs north toward Van Cortlandt Park along a thoroughfare named by a society matron in a fit of pique. ELIZABETH KIEM explores Jerome Avenue at Kingsbridge Road and is as satisfied as Kate Hall Jerome once was. (Stations | July 8, 2008)

Someone’s in the Kitchen With Ignatius J. Reilly

Ever since she left Little House on the Prairie behind and was forced, when she grew too old for books with pictures, to conjure up storybook settings, ELIZABETH KIEM has been placing the fiction she reads in the homes she knows. (Op-Ed | June 17, 2008)

Cypress Hills, J Train

Turning an elevated corner, in the crook of which stands a decaying apartment, shades drawn to half-mast, darkness inside where life is shared with a world not paying attention, ELIZABETH KIEM does light research. (Stations | May 6, 2008)

Alla Bayanova on the Arbat

Wandering along the Arbat in Moscow, ELIZABETH KIEM finds the residence of a Russian singer who spent a year in a concentration camp during World War II, and who claims never to have known her true home. (The Artist at Home | March 11, 2008)

In Other Election News

Some claim Russia’s Medvedev is a False Dmitry; others—especially the new prime minister—insist he’s the real deal. ELIZABETH KIEM looks at Russia’s post-election party-protests and leans toward the bad guys, who play better music. (Op-Ed | March 5, 2008)

William Weaver at Annandale-on-Hudson

After a life spent telling stories in two different tongues, the American translator of Umberto Eco and Italo Calvino is struggling with his own. ELIZABETH KIEM recalls a mystifying interview, in which the source became the subject and the questions went unanswered. (The Artist at Home | January 29, 2008)

How to Make Friends and Poke People

Facebook is old news for the sub-30 set, but plenty of their elders are tuning in, logging on, and tossing cows. ELIZABETH KIEM finds out what happens when she overcomes her inner Andy Rooney and feeds her address book to the monster. (Personal Essays | December 11, 2007)

Nonfiction Books

You’ve stocked up on bookmarks, ordered the bookplates, and now you’re ready to fill the shelves. Next time you’re shopping, pass over the fiction and pick up something with an index. THE WRITERS offer a selection. (Of Recent Note | October 23, 2007)

The Long Goodbye

For 45 years, the weekend after Labor Day has closed out the season for Astroland Park. This year, with the fate of Coney Island in the balance, the weekend passed without resolution. ELIZABETH KIEM says goodbye to the park, for now. (Astroland’s Last Summer | September 12, 2007)

Miracle on 33rd Street

What do you get when you marry Rodriguez to Rodriguez, double it, parcel it out, deliver it from evil and send it back to church? ELIZABETH KIEM visits a family compound whose God is west of the Wonder Wheel. (Astroland’s Last Summer | August 15, 2007)

Waiting for the Sirens’ Call

Coney Island’s annual Siren Festival is billed as the largest free outdoor indie music festival in New York. This year’s lineup included 14 bands—all of which were free, outdoor, and apparently, indie. ELIZABETH KIEM managed to hear none of them. (Astroland’s Last Summer | July 26, 2007)

Essad Bey at Positano

Lev Nussimbaum spent the second half of his life as a refashioned Muslim prince—before meeting an early end in Italy. In Positano, ELIZABETH KIEM visits an artist at rest. (The Artist at Home | July 18, 2007)

Independence Day

Coney Island celebrated the Fourth by crowning the first American hot-dog eating champion in seven years. ELIZABETH KIEM reports on yet another “triumph of the human spirit” at the fabled playground, drizzle be damned. (Astroland’s Last Summer | July 9, 2007)

A Mermaid’s Tale

Celebrating a quarter-century, Coney Island’s Mermaid Parade is a reminder that for some, changing times should be ignored. ELIZABETH KIEM provides a backstage pass to the revelry. (Astroland’s Last Summer | June 26, 2007)

Burlesque on the Beach

As Coney Island gears up for its annual fancy-dress bacchanalia, the mermaids on parade contemplate the legendary funpark’s mortality. Part three of “Astroland’s Last Summer” by ELIZABETH KIEM. (Astroland’s Last Summer | June 20, 2007)

The Bowery

Coney Island’s Bowery was once lined with attractions for six straight blocks. Today it is largely shuttered, pending a new wave of development. ELIZABETH KIEM looks at the Penny Arcade’s last stand. (Astroland’s Last Summer | June 14, 2007)

Captain Bob

Coney Island is under siege, and for Astroland lovers it’s hard to tell if the pirates are friend or foe. ELIZABETH KIEM begins a new series on the final summer at America’s Playground. (Astroland’s Last Summer | May 31, 2007)

J.P. Donleavy at Levington Park

Home is where writers often retreat to focus on work, not receive visitors. Pushing aside the barbed wire, ELIZABETH KIEM tracks down the author of The Ginger Man at his Irish estate. Lock your doors, Salinger. (The Artist at Home | May 9, 2007)

Yolkin

You’ve read much about Boris Yeltsin’s legacy this week. His biggest may be the mean little man in the Kremlin who’s the butt of few jokes, writes ELIZABETH KIEM. (Profiles | April 25, 2007)

Not an Open Letter

The self-made jury has handed down its decision: For his previous life in the Waffen SS, Günter Grass—and his work—should receive the maximum penalty. ELIZABETH KIEM testifies on his behalf. (Op-Ed | August 22, 2006)

Heeding the Lamplighter’s Whistle

He’s gone. He’s been gone for some time. I’d still come running, though, at the very first note. Just one little round of the Masterpiece Theatre theme, and I’m all his, that little gas-lighting corporate mascot. I’m his sucker, writes ELIZABETH KIEM (Op-Ed | February 24, 2006)

The Big Apple’s Nametag

Though it was dark for over 30 years, the neon sign above the New Yorker Hotel, for many of its former residents, never truly dimmed. ELIZABETH KIEM attends the hotel’s anniversary celebration, and offers an account of the night the lights switched back on in Midtown. (New York, New York | January 31, 2006)

Saturday, November 21, 2009

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