“A revelatory new book. The Writer’s Brush, the product of Friedman’s lifelong fascination with his subject, offers a lavishly illustrated look at the paintings, drawings and sculptures of some 200 literary figures (several of them among our most recognized names) from the past two centuries – and throws in a series of concise but illuminating (and often delightfully quirky) biographies to boot.”
—Rachel Campbell-Johnston, Times of London


About Donald
I’m Donald Friedman, author of novels, short stories, essays, and large and small books of non-fiction. Curious about everything (some might say pathologically so) my books and blogs cover an odd mix of topics—the lives and works of writer-artists, a fascination with language that resulted in a humorous book about dog terms, a blog about words derived from chemistry, and the mind-destroying disease, CJD, that took the life of my sister.
Since there’s only so much one guy can discover on his own, I hope you’ll send me an email with writer-artists or dog terms or chemistry words I’ve overlooked, or your own experience with dementing illness. Or anything else you care to share.
Praise
The Writer's Brush
“Sparkling audaciously on every page.”
—New York Times Book Review
The Writer’s Brush Exhibition Catalogue
—The New Yorker
Corrupted Humours
“A fever dream...an engaging, serpentine, and multilayered tale of death, passion, and people.”
—Kirkus Reviews
You’re My Dawg, Dog
“As funny and irresistible as dogs are.”
—John Berendt, bestselling author of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
The Hand Before the Eye
“You’ll be pleased to compare its farcical humor to Philip Roth.”
—The Jerusalem Report
The Writer's Brush
“A grand feat of research and interpretation”
—Booklist (American Libraries Assoc.)
Starred Review
The Latest
Spread over twenty years, the story begins in Manhattan in the 1990’s and ends in the mythical town of Apiaka, Florida. We see what Pritzker has failed to appreciate—the native intelligence and inner resources that will enable Ludmilla to outwit her controlling husband and his lawyers, and emerge from the marital crucible as a strong and independent woman.

Latest Blog Post
Why is this night of Passover,2023, different from all other nights? Because this celebration of the Exodus, a symbol to peoples everywhere—Jews and Christians alike–who’ve won the hard fight for freedom, is being overshadowed in Israel itself by a group of democracy-suppressing, racist, and violent Jews. Because, after centuries of…
Read More