Daphne Miriam Merkin (born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

) is an American literary critic, essayist and novelist. Merkin is a graduate of

Barnard College Barnard College of Columbia University is a private women's liberal arts college in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a group of women led by young student activist Annie Nathan Meyer, who petitioned Col ...

and also attended

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manha ...

's graduate program in English literature. She began her career as a book critic for the magazines '' Commentary'', ''

The New Republic ''The New Republic'' is an American magazine of commentary on politics, contemporary culture, and the arts. Founded in 1914 by several leaders of the progressive movement, it attempted to find a balance between "a liberalism centered in hu ...

'', and ''

The New Leader ''The New Leader'' (1924–2010) was an American political and cultural magazine. History ''The New Leader'' began in 1924 under a group of figures associated with the Socialist Party of America, such as Eugene V. Debs and Norman Thomas. It was ...

'', where she wrote a book column and later, a movie column. In 1986, she became an editor with the publishing house of

Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Harcourt () was an American publishing firm with a long history of publishing fiction and nonfiction for adults and children. The company was last based in San Diego, California, with editorial/sales/marketing/rights offices in New York City a ...

. In 1997, after

Tina Brown Christina Hambley Brown, Lady Evans (born 21 November 1953), is an English journalist, magazine editor, columnist, talk-show host, and author of ''The Diana Chronicles'' (2007) a biography of Diana, Princess of Wales, '' The Vanity Fair Diari ...

became editor of ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issue ...

'', Merkin became a film critic for the magazine. She also wrote extensively on books and became known for her frank forays into autobiography; her personal essays dealt with subjects ranging from her battle with depression, to her predilection for

spanking Spanking is a form of corporal punishment involving the act of striking, with either the palm of the hand or an implement, the buttocks of a person to cause physical pain. The term spanking broadly encompasses the use of either the hand or im ...

, to the unacknowledged complexities of growing up rich on Park Avenue. In 2005, she joined ''

The New York Times Magazine ''The New York Times Magazine'' is an American Sunday magazine supplement included with the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times''. It features articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted many notable contributors. ...

'' as a contributing writer. She is the author of a novel, ''Enchantment'' (1984) as well as two collections of essays, ''Dreaming of Hitler'' (1997) and ''The Fame Lunches'' (2014), and a memoir, ''This Close to Happy: A Reckoning With Depression'' (2017). Her latest novel, ''22 Minutes of Unconditional Love'' (2020), came out in July 2020. Her parents were the philanthropists Hermann and

Ursula Merkin Ursula Merkin (1919–2006) was a German-born American philanthropist. Life and career She was born in Frankfurt, Germany to Isaac Breuer, a noted German Rabbi, as Ursula (Sara) Breuer. In 1933, at the age of fourteen, she left Germany with her ...

. Her brother is J. Ezra Merkin, a hedge fund manager and philanthropist who was embroiled in the

Bernie Madoff Bernard Lawrence Madoff ( ; April 29, 1938April 14, 2021) was an American fraudster and financier who was the admitted mastermind of the largest Ponzi scheme in history, worth about $64.8 billion. He was at one time chairman of the NASDAQ ...

scandal. Merkin teaches writing at the

92nd Street Y 92nd Street Y, New York (92NY) is a cultural and community center located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, at the corner of East 92nd Street and Lexington Avenue. Founded in 1874 as the Young Men's Hebrew Association, the ...

. She married and divorced Michael Brod, and lives on the Upper East Side of

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the List of co ...

with her daughter, Zoe. She also is a contributing editor to ''Tablet'' magazine.

References

External links

*
"Getting Candid With Daphne Merkin,"
West Side Spirit, May 20, 2010
Works by and about Merkin in ''The New York Times''

Works in ''The New Yorker''

Works in ''Tablet''
Living people Ramaz School alumni Jewish American writers Barnard College alumni The New Yorker people The New York Times people Year of birth missing (living people) Merkin family {{US-writer-stub