Erika Dreifus

Each week (typically Fridays), the Practicing Writing blog offers writing and publishing resources, news, and reflections to peruse over the weekend.

This week, exceptionally, I’m going to begin by cross-posting from yesterday’s “Jewish Literary Links” on My Machberet.

• From Franklin Einspruch: “Curious Substitutions,” an essay “on the bad faith of the Palestinian cause among the arts and letters.” (If you read the comments, you’ll find one from me.)
• From Sarah Einstein: “AWP as a Narrow Place,” reflections on how the writing conference “that once felt like a gathering of my community this year felt like an assault on my ethnic and religious identity.” (And yes, if you read the comments here, you’ll again find one from me.)
• In related news: a post-AWP message from Yetzirah Poets.
• From the Jewish Book Council: a new way to report antisemitism in the literary world. (Which is also mentioned in Yetzirah’s message.)
• If all of the (admittedly not-so-cheerful) foregoing inspires in you a wish to demonstrate solidarity, it’s not too late to add your name to this Open Letter on Israel, Antisemitism, and the Literary Community. I’ll also remind you of my own list of “18 Ways to Address Antisemitism in Your Literary Life.”
• And one “new” item/postscript: Last evening, a related article (in which I’m quoted) was published on JTA: “An Effort to Track Antisemitism in the Literary World Launches Amid Widespread Anti-Israel Sentiment There.”

Reminder: If you haven’t checked it lately, you may want to peruse the “After October 7: Readings, Recordings, and More” document-in-progress. (Updates are frequent!) This may also be an appropriate week to mention anew the availability of some cautionary information (also in-progress), compiled under the title “Writers, Beware.”

May the weekend be less fraught for all.