Michael Lederer is an American writer who lives in Berlin. His newest stage play “Casual Baggage” is the story of the only small group of Jewish refugees from Europe admitted into the United States during WW II. The U.S. embassy Berlin recently presented a staged reading of the play as part of their American Literature Series. Comments about this blog are welcome on the author’s website: https://www.michaellederer.com/
Michael Lederer
Blog posts by Michael Lederer:
AI: Too Smart for Our Own Good?
An essay ‘about’ AI, written ‘by’ AI. Maybe even ‘for’ AI? As my kids say, “Are we there yet?” It feels less like we’re crossing the … Continue reading AI: Too Smart for Our Own Good?
No Story, No Life
Everything we do begins with a story. Without story, we would perish. We don’t get off that couch and head to the kitchen unless we have … Continue reading No Story, No Life
German Distance, American Naivety
As an American writer living in Berlin, I strain to understand and express some of the differences between my two homes. So many exceptions to any … Continue reading German Distance, American Naivety
America and the Holocaust
Beyond a severely limited immigration quota kept to a bare minimum, fewer than a thousand Jewish refugees from Europe were admitted into the U.S. during World … Continue reading America and the Holocaust
Childhood Memories
Memories are stories we tell ourselves. “When I was younger, I remember how…” We cherry-pick. We have to. Otherwise, we’d remember what we wore and ate … Continue reading Childhood Memories
Iron Curtain, Please
One man’s trash is another’s treasure. Vladimir the Small, as history is sure to remember him, has pulled the iron curtain off the trash pile and … Continue reading Iron Curtain, Please
Taking Peace for Granted
It’s so easy to take peace for granted, when we have it. In my 2012 book, The Great Game: Berlin-Warsaw Express and Other Stories, the character Cal, … Continue reading Taking Peace for Granted
Hemingway
I first read Hemingway at college in 1978, an intro course called Modern Existential Literature. The Old Man and the Sea was like looking at an x‑ray … Continue reading Hemingway
Mundo Overloadus
I am writing this on the first day of a new year that arrived not a nanosecond too soon. We needed a new year as sorely … Continue reading Mundo Overloadus
A New Millennium?
January 1, 2000. Not just a new century, but a new millennium. Spotless, for the briefest moment, though far from empty. Arriving so brimful of promise … Continue reading A New Millennium?
Erich Mühsam and the Berlin Idea Factory
Erich Mühsam (1878–1934) was a German-Jewish antimilitarist anarchist essayist, poet, and playwright. I can check most of those boxes. I tried anarchy in my 20s; it … Continue reading Erich Mühsam and the Berlin Idea Factory
Love no more? Catalonia and Spain
CADAQUÉS, Catalonia, Spain – Dispatch from Spain’s Cold Civil War. Speaker of the U.S. House Tip O’Neill once said, “All politics are local.” In today’s world, no … Continue reading Love no more? Catalonia and Spain
Eye of the Storm
History never crawls or walks. It runs. Sometimes silently as if on the softer sands of time. Sometimes we can hear its footsteps louder as they … Continue reading Eye of the Storm
New World vs. Old World Flipped
As an American writer living in Germany, I care deeply for both countries. It is a strange time to do so, as powers-that-be in Germany and … Continue reading New World vs. Old World Flipped
If it’s Tuesday, it Must be Cold War Again
“May you live in interesting times.” Many Americans coming to Europe are lured by the romance: fountains in Rome, cafés in Paris, Spanish guitars, the cool vibes … Continue reading If it’s Tuesday, it Must be Cold War Again
The Window as Mirror
Look through a window and we see the world outside. Change of focus, and we can see ourselves reflected in that same window. As an American … Continue reading The Window as Mirror
Don Quixote Saving America
You know what tribe I belong to? Put your hand on a table. Now hit it with a rock. If it hurts, then you and I … Continue reading Don Quixote Saving America
A Night in Berlin with Michael Lederer
The U.S. Embassy Literature Series at the English Theatre Berlin in cooperation with PalmArtPress presented Michael Lederer on February 11, 2014. In the following video, Lederer … Continue reading A Night in Berlin with Michael Lederer