Jewish Literary Links

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

  • “As journal after journal, press after press, began to share statements of support for Palestine, with no mention of the massacre of Israelis or the hostages who remain captive in Gaza, as incidents of antisemitic hate crimes rose on campuses around the country, we realized we needed to address this issue more directly.” From Yetzirah Poets Executive Director Jessica Jacobs’s introduction to a current advocacy/outreach project.
  • Mazal tov to the authors longlisted for the 2024 Wingate Prize.
  • As noted in Los Angeles Magazine, Artists Against Antisemitism “is launching an online auction on Dec. 15-Dec. 22….The auction’s proceeds will support Project Shema, an organization that trains and supports the Jewish community to nurture compassion for Jews and disrupt the spread of anti-Jewish ideas.”
  • Aviya Kushner is “reading the Uruguayan poet Laura Cesarco Eglin [in translation by Jesse Lee Kercheval and Catherine Jagoe] –and singing Ladino in candlelight.”
  • If you missed it (I did), I highly recommend this recording of Literary Modiin’s second Israel Solidarity event, which featured readings by Yonatan Berg, Joanna Chen, Vivian Cohen, Sherri Mandell, Aviya Kushner, Joan Leegant, and Haim Watzman. And in related news: Literary Modiin’s third Israel Solidarity event is scheduled for this Sunday (December 17). It will feature readings by Rachel Neve-Midbar, Sarah Sassoon, Jonathan Dunsky, Diti Ronen, Elizabeth Edelglass, host Julie Zuckerman, and yours truly! Register here.

Quick reminder that you can continue to find new material in the document-in-progress titled “After October 7: Readings, Recordings, and More.” Wishing everyone a light-filled eighth night of Hanukkah and a Shabbat shalom.

Jewish Literary Links

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

Wishing everyone a Shabbat shalom.

Jewish Literary Links

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

Wishing everyone a Shabbat shalom. #AmYisraelChai. And #BringThemHomeNow.

Occasional Notes from a Practicing Writer

This past Sunday afternoon, I moderated a panel titled “Addressing Antisemitism in Our Literary Lives” at the 2023 Jewish Book Council Writers’ Conference. In addition to moderating, I participated as a panelist. And below, you’ll find the handout around which most of my remarks were organized.

As I made clear at the session’s outset, I was speaking for myself only—not for the Jewish Book Council, and not for any of my co-panelists, either. I also said that there was no way I’d be able to cover everything there was to say. That would have been the case even if the session had been held before October 7. (In fact, we proposed the panel last summer, which is also when it was accepted. Because, unfortunately, antisemitism in literary and literary-adjacent spaces is not new.)

I hope that you’ll find this to be a helpful resource. (Don’t neglect the footnotes!)

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