Erika Dreifus

Day-Job Doings

Much of my time lately has been consumed by my work for Fig Tree Books. It has been exceptionally busy, with lots of good things happening.

Among the latest goings-on: an announcement about the company’s expansion to new genres; the launch of Safekeeping, Jessamyn Hope’s gorgeous debut novel (pictured below at a local bookstore); and, ahem, the drafting and polishing of the latest Fig Tree newsletter, which should be out this week.

Writing for reBar

I have, however, managed to squeeze in a tiny bit of writing. Following in the footsteps of my esteemed friend Sara Lippmann, I’ve just sent off a brief essay recalling my Bat Mitzvah to the reBar project. No idea when it may appear on the site—or even if it passes muster with the editor. But it’s done. (You all know how great that feels, right?) UPDATE, Wednesday AM: The editor is pleased! The piece will be highlighted in the August reBar newsletter.

And Remembering Uncle Bert

And speaking of my Bat Mitzvah—here’s a photo from that memorable occasion. It shows my maternal grandmother, accompanied by her brother-in-law, my great-uncle Bert, helping me light a candle on the Bat-Mitzvah cake. Although I am not sure how clearly I understood it back when I posed for this photo, Bert occupied very much of a father-figure role in my mother’s life. And last week, he passed away, at the ripe age of 104 (which means that he was a youthful 71 at the time the photograph was taken; I mentioned his most recent birthday here on Practicing Writing back in March). So some of these recent days have been devoted to celebrating his amazing life, and being grateful for the many ways/times it intersected with mine.