Jewish Literary Links: Shavua Tov Edition

Normally, I post my link compilations on Friday morning, before Shabbat. But this week, I made so many worthy discoveries after I prepared the Friday post that I am compelled to present a second batch. Let’s consider it the “Shavua Tov” edition!

  • First, as mentioned here yesterday, The Forward has announced a poetry contest commemorating the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire.
  • Also from The Forward (via the Arty Semite blog): three poems by Alicia Ostriker.
  • And The Forward‘s Arty Semite blog has also given us this gem: an update on author Imre Kertész. NB: Benjamin Ivry’s post is in English, but if you understand Hungarian or French, you’ll also be able to appreciate the video.
  • One reason I found the Kertész post so striking is that I’ve recently finished reading Ruth Franklin’s sharp new book, A Thousand Darknesses: Lies and Truth in Holocaust Fiction, which features a chapter devoted to the Hungarian Nobel literature laureate. Franklin will be interviewed by James Young at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York City on Wednesday, January 12. Details about the event can be found online.
  • Big thanks to the Jewish Women’s Archive for compiling the #JWA100, a list of more than 100 Jewish women who tweet.
  • Finally, on Twitter and elsewhere, many of us are sending healing thoughts to Debbie Friedman, the acclaimed Jewish songwriter who has been hospitalized in serious condition. See the URJ homepage for more information. And, returning to The Forward, you can read about efforts and prayers in her honor.