Zachary Lazar

Zachary Lazar (born 1968, Phoenix, AZ) – Professor of English at Tulane U. His writings frequently explore Jewish identity, history, and mysticism, often through a secular or cultural lens. 

His work is deeply informed by his own Jewish heritage and its connection to larger themes of exile and violence. I Pity the Poor Immigrant  (2014) is central to Lazar’s exploration of Jewishness. It interweaves the life of Jewish American gangster Meyer Lansky with a fictional investigation into the murder of an Israeli poet. The book meditates on the 20th-century Jewish experience, the desire for a homeland, and the paradoxes of modern Israel. Recurring Jewish themes:

Jewish Mysticism: Lazar has referenced the Shekhinah (the feminine aspect of God) and the Lurianic Kabbalah concept of “shattering the vessels” as part of his creative process and thematic focus.

Cultural Identity: Lazar describes some of his work as “accidentally Jewish,” noting that while his characters may not be religious, they are steeped in Jewish culture and the search for meaning. He uses Hebrew terms like olim (those who “go up” to Israel) and yordim (those who leave) as metaphors for the human condition.

Holocaust Legacy: His narratives often feature secondary characters or historical backdrops involving Holocaust survivors and the generational reverberations of that trauma. 

Lazar is an active contributor to the Jewish Book Council and has discussed his efforts to write about Jewishness in a way that avoids traditional irony or self-deprecation.  [Google/AI]

Lazar, Zachary, (Evening’s Empire: The Story of My Father’s Murder [hc, Little Brown & Co., 2009] 978-0316037686 [pb, Back Bay Books, 2010] 978-0316037693

Lazar, Zachary, (I Pity the Poor Immigrant [hc, Little, Brown, 2014]) 978-0316254038 [pb, Back Bay Books, 2015] 978-0316254052

Lazar, Zachary,, “Meyer Lansky’s Ghost Haunts My Visit to Miami Beach,” Tablet, April 14, 2014 . See also Adam Kirsch’s review, “I Dream of Lansky: The Dead Jewish Mob King Rules Zachary Lazar’s Law-Bending Novel,” Tablet, April 14, 2014]