Finds for Writers

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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.”

Screenshot of text published beneath "Avoiding Antisemitic and Islamophobic Tropes in Discussing Israeli-Palestinian Conflict." Text taken from the website linked within the post.
  • Over on The Literary Saloon, M.A. Orthofer reminds us that the next Nobel literature laureate will be announced fairly soon—and that bets are being taken.
  • In which Brandon Taylor delivers a close reading of a short story by Mavis Gallant.
  • Next Wednesday, Becky Tuch/Lit Mag News Roundup will host a conversation on “Cancel Culture in the Literary World.” Becky will be joined by writer Anis Shivani and poet/Rattle Editor Tim Green. “We’ll be talking about the origins of ‘cancel culture,’ the implications for writers, who gets hurt, who benefits, where it’s all headed, and more.” The event is “free and open for all to attend, and the video will be recorded and shared.” Scroll down this page to find the registration information.
  • Over on My Machberet, you’ll find the final Jewish Literary Links for the year 5782.
  • And as I’ve read though coverage these past several days in connection with #BannedBooksWeek and #UniteAgainstBookBans, I’ve been thinking back to one of the most clarifying conversations on these matters that I’ve encountered. It’s a conversation from July on The Book of Life podcast, and there is a transcript.

Have a good weekend, everyone.

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