Diana West's Biography
Washington Times columnist Diana West writes a weekly commentary column for Newspaper Enterprise Association. A conservative with a strong bent for cultural commentary, West explores topics few writers touch upon - from whether Islam is really a religion of peace, to whether Howard Dean was as good a governor as his campaign claims he was, to society's bizarre efforts to protect children from Mother's Day, to the rise of "PC" summer camps in Vermont - presenting all in a deft, often humorous manner.
"I feel that such an approach, besides being more readable, is also more persuasive than a steady output of sober jeremiads," says West. "Not that I haven't been known to do a few of those, but I do strive to slip in a few zingers. In other words, mine is not a who's up, who's down Beltway column; nor is it just another take on the Big Story-of-the-Week. Instead, I am fascinated by the culture stories, the ones that reveal who we are as a people."
West's column has appeared in NEA since 2001. A journalist with experience in feature-writing, political coverage and arts criticism, West joined The Washington Times' editorial page in 1999 to comment on cultural and social issues, along with a range of political affairs, including Hillary Clinton's Senate campaign, sundry Clinton scandals and the ongoing fight over the judiciary, resigning in 2002 to pursue other writing projects. She won second place for editorial writing in the Maryland-Delaware-DC Press Association Contest (largest daily division) in 2001. In 1990, she won a first place prize in feature writing from the National Newspaper Association for a two-part story on the David Baltimore affair, a scientific fraud controversy involving the Nobel prizewinner.
West has contributed essays and features to many publications, including The Wall Street Journal, The Weekly Standard, The Washington Post, Commentary, The New Criterion, The Public Interest and The Women's Quarterly. She has also written fiction for The Atlantic Monthly and has been a columnist for Scripps Howard News Service.
Born and raised in Hollywood, West spent a year as a youngster living in Ireland with her family. She went on to graduate from Yale with a B.A. in English. A Washingtonian for many years, she lives in the nation's capital with her husband and two daughters.