Navasky: Left-Wing Literary Lion, Upper West Sider, Dies

A Personal Remembrance by Michele Willens

Victor Navasky was born on the Upper West Side and remained there until his death, which just happened this week. A giant in publishing, magazines, and at Columbia, he will be missed by many for different reasons. Mine are personal.

Victor used to say that my father, Harold, and Paul Newman, saved the nation. Well, make that The Nation. Yes, when the left-leaning magazine—which was born in 1865—was in dire straits in the mid 90s, Navasky called his friend and long-time supporter, Newman for help.

Navasky recalled how Newman asked how much money the magazine needed. “When I replied, ‘one million dollars,’ Paul said, ‘that’s very rich.’ At which point, his wife, Joanne, interjected, “so are you, dear.’” That’s when the actor called my father—they were long-time political pals—and asked if he had one more fight in him. They created the Circle of 100, a fundraising arm that literally brought the magazine back to health.

I attended the 90th birthday celebration for Victor Navasky a few months ago at the Ethical Culture building on Central Park West. Besides speakers like Calvin Trillin (who humorously described Navasky as ‘wily and parsimonious’) and Eric Foner, most touching were the words of the many young people who were former interns under the program Navasky began. All had moved on to successful careers. He also helped readers discover relatively new voices like those of Christopher Hitchens and Alexander Cockburn.

“Victor Navasky changed my life and those of thousands of others,” says Katrina Vanden Heuvel, who succeeded Navasky as the magazine’s editor. “We all embarked on our informal journalistic education at The Nation. He was a true believer in the power of independent media.

“Victor was quietly fierce in his convictions, yet kind and generous to so very many. Like your beloved father, he stayed young in spirit through commitment, love of life and family, and laughter!!“ Adds longtime Nation columnist Katha Pollitt, “Victor was an original: brilliant, principled, fearless, and immensely loyal. So many writers owe their careers to him, and I am certainly one of them.”

Many are mourning this man’s loss at this time. “In this crazy super-partisan climate, where too many stand firm in the belief that there are just two sides to an argument, (my right and your wrong) Victor stood out,” says the great historian David Nasaw. “He argued but he listened. He took ideas he opposed seriously, instead of dismissing them as misguided, erroneous, stupid. And my god how we miss men and women like him who trust in reason, in debate, who talk instead of shout.”

Besides the magazine, Navasky also authored books, including Kennedy Justice and, most notably, Naming Names, considered the definitive chronicle of the blacklisting period.

At the birthday celebration, it was clear he was weakening. He spoke only a few words from the first row, accompanied by his wife, Annie, and their children. I wasn’t the only one whose eyes were filling with tears, realizing this was a farewell of sorts. There will be a memorial later on at Columbia.

Michele Willens is the author of From Mouseketeers to Menopause. She covers theater in her weekly radio report “stage right or not.”