The Mystery of Edward Said:
Edward Said 1935-2003
Originally appeared in the Jerusalem Report
Date approximate
Originally appeared in the Jerusalem Report
Date approximate
When I look back on an interview I did with Edward Said in
1999 (for the Atlantic Unbound), I am struck anew both by what I thought was
extraordinary about the scholar and activist, and by what disturbed me about
the man. At the time, Said was in remission from leukemia, the disease that
finally killed him this past September 25, at the age of 67, but he knew the
remission was temporary, and the illness was "insidiously creeping
back." The long battle with leukemia, in fact, had prompted him to write
his memoir, "Out Of Place," the publication of which was the occasion
for my interview.