Finds for Writers
Most Fridays the Practicing Writing blog shares writing and publishing resources, news, and reflections to peruse over the weekend. But it’s been an excruciating week for so many of us. And frankly, I’ve paid next-to-no attention to garden-variety news from the writing and publishing spheres.
On Wednesday, however, I received an email from Facing History and Ourselves, a Boston-based global nonprofit organization that I’ve admired for many years. The email introduced a “mini-lesson” titled “Processing Attacks in Israel and the Outbreak of War in the Region.”
The resource isn’t perfect. (What resource is?) But one of its segments impressed me as something that, though intended for educators and students, could be clarifying for writers as well, in our work and in the rest of our lives. It’s a section titled “Avoiding Antisemitic and Islamophobic Tropes in Discussing Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.”
- “Sometimes we’re writing for money. Sometimes we aren’t. Journal editors, please give us the dignity of trusting our choice—and the honesty of making your policy clear.” Amen, and thank you, Allison K. Williams.
- Admittedly, most of us aren’t exactly hurrying to make new plans to attend big gatherings at the moment—but I’m guessing that Charu Suri began researching this piece on “The Literary Festivals to Hit This Year, from Brooklyn to Singapore” for The New York Times.
- Through tomorrow (March 7), you can access a free e-copy of my friend Sage Cohen’s wonderful Writing the Life Poetic: An Invitation to Read and Write Poetry. (As acknowledged in Birthright, Sage is also my teacher, and so I’ll note as well that especially if you like the book, you may want to check out Sage’s upcoming National-Poetry-Month-timed online class.)
- I’m aiming to spend some time in the not-too-distant future with this Colorado Review podcast episode about book reviews.
- And there’s a new batch of Jewish lit links up (including some other intended listening of mine) on the My Machberet blog.
Have a great weekend. (And if you’re one of the writers enrolled in tomorrow’s book-publicity seminar at Grub Street, I’ll see you soon!)