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Jewish Literary Links

by Erika Dreifus on
0
an open book (with Hebrew pages visible); subtitle reads "Jewish Literary Links"
Image by Yedidia Klein from Pixabay

Toward the end of each week, the My Machberet blog presents a collection of links, drawn primarily from the world of Jewish books and writing.

  • “For Zion­ist writ­ers (read: many Jew­ish writ­ers) the mes­sage is clear: we are no longer wel­come. Or, rather, we could still be wel­come, but only if we push the part of our­selves that loves Israel, lives in Israel, used to live in Israel, has rel­a­tives in Israel, or oth­er­wise believes that Israel is an invalu­able asset to the Jew­ish peo­ple, deep down into the most secret, unspo­ken recess­es of our minds. In prac­tice, this pre­cludes many of us.” From Yardenne Greenspan’s “We Are No Longer Welcome,” published this week on the Jewish Book Council’s blog.
  • In related news, and as National Poetry Month draws to a close: Judy Bolton-Fasman’s new article for Hadassah cites “two trends impacting the Jewish literary world. One is the rise of antisemitism in the arts world….The second trend is a general surge of interest in poetry.”
  • Speaking of poetry: I’ve been informed that The Deronda Review has archived a set of Israel-focused poems dated October 2023. Many of the poems there indeed reflect the rawness of six months ago.
  • And in the Department-of-In-Every-Generation this Passover week, the Yiddish Book Center has re-upped a powerful short story: Yenta Mash’s “A Seder in the Taiga,” translated by Ellen Cassedy. (If you’re interested in teaching this story [I have], check this resource kit, compiled by Jessica Kirzane.)
My Bookshop list banner for 2023 #JewishAmericanHeritageMonth and #ShortStoryMonth spotlights.
  • Believe it or not, this is the final “Jewish Literary Links” post for April. Although I’m as yet utterly unprepared for it (let’s hope that changes by this time next week), May will bring us Jewish American Heritage Month (in Canada, Jewish Heritage Month). Since May is also Short Story Month, I have, in the past, I spotlighted Jewish-American short-story collections throughout throughout the month on Twitter. I also compiled as many of the selections as I was able to find available on Bookshop. Please consider these titles for your own reading as well as for any lists, displays, or other efforts with which you may be engaged. (By the way, cognizant of the concurrence of Asian American and Pacific Islander [AAPI] Heritage Month, I also highlighted joint and/or intersectional books, events, and resources. As this May approaches, helpful resources I’ve noticed so far include this JAHM hub (hosted by the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History); another suite of materials from the American Jewish Committee (AJC); and this Canadian site.

Here’s wishing everyone a Shabbat shalom and Moadim l’simcha. Please note that this week I have continue to update the “After October 7: Readings, Recordings, and More”  document-in-progress. Check also cautionary information (also in-progress), compiled under the title “Writers, Beware.”

Jewish Literary Links

by Erika Dreifus on
2
an open book (with Hebrew pages visible); subtitle reads "Jewish Literary Links"
Image by Yedidia Klein from Pixabay

Toward the end of each week, the My Machberet blog presents a collection of links, drawn primarily from the world of Jewish books and writing.

Friends, a prefatory note: It’s another week when there’s a lot to share regarding antisemitism in literary spaces. I wish that this weren’t so. It’s overwhelming, frankly—and I’m just sharing what’s public. You have no idea how much of my time has been devoted to this subject outside public view.

I want to start off, however, with some more celebratory and “routine” news.

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Jewish Literary Links

by Erika Dreifus on
3
an open book (with Hebrew pages visible); subtitle reads "Jewish Literary Links"
Image by Yedidia Klein from Pixabay

Toward the end of each week, the My Machberet blog presents a collection of links, drawn primarily from the world of Jewish books and writing.

  • Jewish writers need some help—and Michelle Cameron has crowd-sourced some suggestions regarding how to provide it.
  • Although it’s geared toward school settings, Liza Wiemer’s expert tips on “how to handle antisemitic incidents” apply to other settings—including literary ones.
  • If I were a member of the UK-based Society of Authors, I’d surely follow the administration’s recommendations to vote against Resolution #3 at this upcoming meeting. And if I hadn’t let my dues lapse at AWP (Association of Writers and Writing Programs), I’d sign on to this effort from Yetzirah: A Hearth for Jewish Poetry to create “a new caucus for Jewish writers at AWP. After what was for many a challenging experience at AWP’s annual conference in Kansas City, providing a space in which Jewish writers of all genres can come together and be in community at future conferences, as well as share suggestions and concerns with the AWP leadership, feels especially vital. We need signatures to show support for this proposal (you don’t need to be Jewish, of course, just a member of AWP) and I’m hoping you might consider signing. And please feel free to share and help get the word out! ” (Quoted with permission from a post by Yetzirah’s founder/president/executive director Jessica Jacobs in a private Facebook group.)
  • In a similar vein (encompassed within: the aforementioned AWP conference), Maxim Shrayer surveys “Poetry After October 7th.”
  • And icymi: You’ll find some explicitly “Jewish” opportunities in the latest issue of The Practicing Writer 2.0, including upcoming deadlines for the Natan Notable Books program (April 26) and the Rabbi Sacks Book Prize (May 1).

Reminder: 181 days later, I continue to update the “After October 7: Readings, Recordings, and More” document-in-progress. Check also cautionary information (also in-progress), compiled under the title “Writers, Beware.”

Shabbat shalom.

Words of the Week: Theo Baker

by Erika Dreifus on
Disabled

“Across the many conversations and hours of formal interviews I conducted for this article, I’ve encountered a persistent anti-intellectual streak. I’ve watched many of my classmates treat death so cavalierly that they can protest as a pregame to a party. Indeed, two parties at Stanford were reported to the university this fall for allegedly making people say ‘Fuck Israel’ or ‘Free Palestine’ to get in the door. A spokesperson for the university said it was ‘unable to confirm the facts of what occurred,’ but that it had ‘met with students involved in both parties to make clear that Stanford’s nondiscrimination policy applies to parties.’ As a friend emailed me not long ago: ‘A place that was supposed to be a sanctuary from such unreason has become a factory for it.’

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