Midweek Notes from a Practicing Writer

Class Notes

DraftingIt’s hard to believe that this semester’s “Jewish Sources, Literary Narrative” writing workshop is almost over. By the time I write next week’s update, instructor Amy Gottlieb will have convened our celebratory final session. (There will be food! There will be wine! There will be shared work—including, if I can manage it, one yet-to-be-completed draft of a new poem by yours truly, inspired by the Book of Psalms.)

As I’ve mentioned before, this was the second iteration of the course for me. It is such a wonderful class, and I hope that Amy will offer it yet again.

I’m revising some of the work I’ve written in response to the texts and prompts that Amy has shared with us these past couple of months. And some of it—yes!—I’ve already begun sending out.

My public thanks to Amy and my classmates for a great experience.

Bibliographic Memories

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Last Thursday I made a day trip to Cambridge, Massachusetts, to attend a celebration of the life of one of my mentors, the late Stanley Hoffmann. It was a quick trip, but I did have a bit of time to stroll around the Harvard campus and swim around in nostalgia/memories. I hadn’t realized that the amazing Widener Library—a key resource and support in the development of my writing practice—is in the midst of a 100th birthday celebration of its own.

Happy Hanukkah

Finally, here’s a sunset snapshot from the suburbs, where my extended family gathered to celebrate Hanukkah on Sunday afternoon.
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And on a related note: a #Readukkah post on My Machberet. And, from the Department of the Day Job, a special #Readukkah blog post there, too.