Maralyn Lois Polak

A detour along my road to romance

In search of mature love (but finding only immature lovers)

As a devotee of great romantic novels and movies, I spent decades searching for D.H. Lawrence's sensuous gardener from Lady Chatterley's Lover. After seeing Never Again, I switched to exterminators. Would you believe I'm still searching?

Maralyn Lois Polak

Jul 23, 2013 · Articles · 5 minute read

My mother's cherished possessions

The thrift shop cometh, or: Disposing of Mama's treasures

I'm the last survivor in my family, and so I've become my family's museum— the repository of all our lost dreams and desires. What am I supposed to do with all these crystal, porcelain and lace symbols that once defined the finer things in life?

Maralyn Lois Polak

Aug 07, 2012 · Essays · 3 minute read

To a brother who died of AIDS

Marty, I hardly knew you

My brother Marty was gay, but not happy. As adults we weren't especially close. It wasn't until he died of AIDS 20 years ago that I really came to know and appreciate him.

Maralyn Lois Polak

Jul 24, 2012 · Essays · 4 minute read

How green is my carbon footprint?

Save the planet? Why?

Excuse me, but isn't all this environmental correctness becoming a convenient marketing ploy?

Maralyn Lois Polak

Jun 03, 2012 · Essays · 3 minute read

Between fiction and self-deceit: A writer's fable

Come back, not-so-little Sheba, or: When writers finally grow up

When Literature becomes Life, watch out! What is life, after all, but a series of interlocking narratives?

Maralyn Lois Polak

May 22, 2012 · Essays · 4 minute read

Death and life of a friend

What a hard dying, what an easy death

Let him die on a Sunday, she decides. And so she calls me, and I come.

Maralyn Lois Polak

Apr 02, 2012 · Essays · 2 minute read

Prostate cancer and radioactive love

When your boyfriend becomes your girlfriend

Thanks to modern medical science, most men survive prostate cancer. But the doctors don't tell you that sometimes the process can transform a macho man into a girly-girl, at least temporarily.

Maralyn Lois Polak

Feb 28, 2012 · Essays · 3 minute read

A belated Valentine to the body

My Valentine, my body, my self

Back in the day, we never thought of betrayals of the body— only betrayals of lovers. Now that the tide has turned, to whom should I send my Valentine?

Maralyn Lois Polak

Feb 07, 2012 · Essays · 4 minute read

Newt's open marriage, and mine

Scenes from an open marriage

Did the talk of Newt Gingrich's open marriage actually help him win the South Carolina primary? Maybe so. Many Americans cherish the same fantasy, as I can attest from personal experience.

Maralyn Lois Polak

Jan 24, 2012 · Essays · 3 minute read

A few not unkind words about Kim Jong-il

The Kim Jong-il you never knew

North Korea's late leader was demonized in the West as a tyrant preoccupied with bombs and gulags. Yet away from his day job, this creative soul pursued other passions, as a prolific writer, filmmaker and critic.

Maralyn Lois Polak

Dec 20, 2011 · Essays · 2 minute read

Open letter to film producer Jeffrey Lurie

Memo to a sensitive film producer: Have I got an opportunity for you!

Producer Jeff Lurie is miffed because the director of his Oscar-winning film neglected to thank him at the awards ceremony. As a small-scale filmmaker looking to crash the big time, I will eagerly perform any requisite display of gratitude in exchange for your support.

Maralyn Lois Polak

Mar 05, 2011 · Articles · 3 minute read

'Tis the season for ungifting

These foolish things remind me of you. Now, how do I get rid of them?

A challenge for the post-Christmas season: Do I really want the ratty Ralph Lauren bathrobe my grumpy ex-boyfriend gave me? Does anyone want it?

Maralyn Lois Polak

Jan 02, 2011 · Essays · 4 minute read