From: Max More (max@maxmore.com)
Date: Mon Oct 25 1999 - 12:06:41 MDT
Since I seem to be back into posting on the list, I'll comment on this
thread too...
One Rand's changing her name, I have read nothing to suggest that she was
ashamed of her Jewish heritage. I think it far more plausible that, in
moving from Russia to America, she wanted to adopt a new name to reflect
her new life and to have a name that would be effective in her chosen
career as a writer.
I can appreciate this, since this is largely why I changed my surname. It's
not that I was *ashamed* of my partially Irish heritage (though, until the
last few years, no one would think of Ireland first when you think "high
tech", "innovative", etc.!). It was a matter of choosing a name to reflect
my values and it was an act of shaping my own identity. Whatever you think
of her work, don't you think "Ayn Rand" is a much sharper name for a writer
than "Alice Rosenbaum"?
Max
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