Erika Dreifus

• “At this hearing, there were not dozens, but hundreds of people I had never met, telling the board about what a lousy journalist I was because I had written pieces on the opinion page in support of Israel. The Student Newspaper Publications Board, wary of controversy because of a previous editor’s anti-military activism, rejected me, and I did not get the job.” From an essay by Howard Lovy that proves, sadly, that old adage plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose. 
• In which Jewish Book Council staffers share some reading suggestions mined from the upcoming fall season’s new books.
• I’ve already registered for this (free!) National Library of Israel event featuring my friend Aviya Kushner: “The Book of Isaiah is full of magnificent poetry that deepens many of the most important days in the Jewish calendar. But Isaiah also lives in the work of Jewish poets who write in a variety of languages. From Paul Celan in German to Avrom Sutzkever in Yiddish to Jorie Graham and Robert Pinsky in English, snippets of Isaiah can be heard, admired, and challenged. In this talk, we will look at individual poetic moments in the Book of Isaiah in Hebrew, in English translation, and in 20th and 21st century poetry, as we examine what makes Isaiah so attractive to poets, and how Isaiah leaves room for continuous cycles of creation.”
• Another free offering I’ve signed up for, this time from the Yiddish Book Center: “The First American Ladino Novella: Shimon Nessim’s ‘Amerika! Amerika!’ with Devin E. Naar.”
• And a follow-up to last week’s post—the 929 website has now republished all three of the poems inspired by the book of Ruth that you may have seen in earlier incarnations on Tablet and/or in Birthright: Poems: “The Awakening,” “The First Night,” and “Ruth’s Regret.” (Cross-posted on the Practicing Writing blog.)

Shabbat shalom.