In which the My Machberet blog presents an array of Jewish-interest links, primarily of the literary variety.
I’m noticing lots of buzz for Honeycake magazine, a new publication that “helps families explore Jewish ideas with stories and activities for two- to six-year-olds.” With an inaugural issue anticipated for Hanukkah 2019, Honeycake has already exceeded its Kickstarter goal. And as noted in this guest post, Honeycake is looking for writers AND for a freelance editor.
This week brought us the May edition of the Jewish Book Carnival, hosted this month by Chava Pinchuk.
Mazal tov to my friend Elizabeth Edelglass, whose short story “First They Came for the Torahs” has won the 2019 Reynolds Price Prize in Short Fiction, awarded by the Center for Women Writers at Salem College. Although the story has not been published, judge Jennine Crucet summarizes: “This story shows how the minutiae of everyday life sustains (and distracts) us from the escalating horrors surrounding us, even as those horrors find us in our own communities and places of worship. Through Abby and Doug, we see how generosity and suspicion go hand in hand, how we can love our neighbors while also being quick to blame and fear them in the face of hatred that hurts us all. It’s an ambitious story without an easy conclusion, because there will be nothing easy about what’s coming our way in this country, and this story is unafraid to tell us the truth: that none of us are safe.”
“American author Joyce Carol Oates says her family’s denial of its Jewish roots haunted her for decades and has shaped her into the famously prolific writer she is today.” From an AP article occasioned by Oates’s trip to Israel to receive the Jerusalem Prize.
And ICYMI, over on my other blog I’ve shared some news about forthcoming books of Jewish interest, including one that I’m helping to promote, and another that will include a poem of mine within.
Shabbat shalom.