When I was fourteen or fifteen years old, I stumbled upon a paperback titled “Only in America”, by Harry Golden. The book was a hodgepodge of humorous bits, anecdotes, literary criticism, political analysis, history, theology, and stories of the South. And all this in the first chapter… Needless to say, I was smitten. I quickly learned that all of these individual “pieces” were actually columns Harry wrote for his world-famous self-published newsletter. “The Carolina Israelite”. He wrote the entire newsletter himself, sold ads to pay the costs, had it printed and stuffed it into hundreds, then thousands, than ultimately tens of thousands of envelopes that were mailed to a subscription list that was a veritable “Who’s Who” list of authors, academics, politicians, Supreme Court justices, clergy, civil rights leaders and jus’ plain folk. The Israelite was published from 1942 – 1968. Once “Only in America” became a #1 bestseller, in 1958, Harry became a well-known national celebrity and was very influential in Democratic, Jewish, and civil-rights circles. Naturally, I found this fascinating and collected any of his books I could find, all of which (with the exception of his autobiography) were essentially compilations from the Israelite, which had ceased publication when I was five years old…

We moved to North Carolina from Florida in 2005, and it took me a few years to “make the connection” and realize that The Old North State was Harry’s home. In 2009 I visited his grave, at the Hebrew cemetery in Charlotte, and I started to toy with the idea that perhaps, more than forty years later, another North-Carolinian Jew should step-up to the plate and take a swing at reviving the exciting, innovative, always fresh publication that was “The Carolina Israelite”.

While he lacked formal education, Harry was extremely well read, had a tremendous wit, lived through exciting times and places and was a consummate storyteller. He offered an outsider’s view in the South during an incredibly important era, and did so with love, great irony, and wonderful sensibilities. He was peerless.

I have no literary or journalistic pretensions whatsoever. What I will try to bring to the table are the thoughts and observations of a modern, transplanted North-Carolinian Jew. I share Harry’s values: his unabashed liberalism, love of the language, Zionism, attachment to the South, and true belief in the basic goodness of his fellow man.

Mechanically, I will strive to maintain a “newsletter” feel: This is not a blog, and I will attempt to publish issues every 3-4 weeks. It seems foolish in this day and age to print and mail out physical newsletters, so I’ll try to replicate the format online. It is, most assuredly, a work-in-progress, albeit one that I fervently pray you will find to be both interesting and enjoyable.

Shalom,

Adee Feinstein