Daphne Merkin

Daphne Merkin is an American literary critic, essayist, and novelist.

2 Posts

Podcast 143: Daphne Merkin on the Baseless Abuse Claims Against Woody Allen—And Why The Media Refuses to Let Them Die

Quillette podcast host Jonathan Kay speaks to Daphne Merkin about HBO’s highly torqued documentary, Allen v. Farrow, and the dubious claims it contains. Merkin, who wrote a widely discussed New York Magazine article about Woody Allen and Soon-Yi Previn in 2018, is a prominent literary critic, essayist, and novelist.

Quillette / Daphne Merkin

4 Apr 2021 · 1 min read

COVID-19 Betrays America’s Curdled Cult of Optimism

A philosophy of optimism was central to the flourishing of the American project. But it’s also useful to consider whether insisting that success and greatness lie around every corner can become a maladaptive response to problems that are complex and brutal.

Daphne Merkin

27 Apr 2020 · 5 min read