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Jewish Literary Links for Shabbat

by Erika Dreifus on
Disabled

Photo Credit: Reut Miryam Cohen
Every Friday morning My Machberet presents an assortment of Jewish-interest links, primarily of the literary variety.

  • This year’s winners and finalists for the National Jewish Book Awards have been announced.
  • Thank you, Moment, for posting this conversation between Alan Cheuse and Joyce Carol Oates.
  • I knew that Judy Labensohn’s essay was forthcoming; so glad to discover “Follow Me: A Mother’s Day in the Israeli Army” online this week.
  • Also discovered this week: Atar Hadari’s stunning poems inspired by the life of Ariel Sharon. (h/t @JendiReiter)
  • And from the media world: the Jewish Telegraphic Agency and MyJewishLearning have announced a merger.

    • Shabbat shalom.

    Wednesday’s WIP: Odds & Ends

    by Erika Dreifus on
    13

    Some nice developments in my writing life over the past week or so:

  • I’ve received two exciting book-reviewing assignments (I can’t talk about them in any detail yet–but I’ll let you know when I can!).
  • I’ve joined the roster of panelists who will be participating in The Whole Megillah Conference on Jewish Story in May.
  • I’ve submitted my first article invoice for 2014 (that article won’t be out for quite awhile, but again, I’ll let you know when it’s available).

    • Some not-so-nice developments:

  • Another contest loss and another litmag rejection.
  • Another article-pitch rejection from a publication that I’m beginning to think simply won’t ever publish me.
  • I’m still waiting on some freelance payments that should have reached me in 2013–but didn’t.

    • So that’s what’s “in-progress” with me. What about you?

    Sunday Sentence

    by Erika Dreifus on
    5

    UnknownAnother Sunday in which I participate in David Abrams’s “Sunday Sentence” project, which asks others to share the best sentence(s) we’ve read during the past week, “out of context and without commentary.”

    But of course, a Jew is never free not to be a Jew—and a writer who publishes a whole book about being Jewish is not exactly fleeing the identification.

    Source: Adam Kirsch’s review of Yascha Mounk’s new memoir, for Tablet.

    (Again, breaking the “no-commentary” rule: I like this sentence so much because it crystallizes my own sentiments after reading Mounk’s essay in last week’s New York Times “Week in Review.”)

    Words of the Week: MLA Members for Scholars’ Rights

    by Erika Dreifus on
    Disabled

    Arguing against an anti-Israel resolution that will be voted on tomorrow by members of the Modern Language Association (MLA) Delegate Assembly, a group of scholars has prepared an extraordinarily thorough and essential document that I hope anyone who will be voting will take the time to read.

    The preamble:

    We are deeply committed to academic freedom of movement, the free exchange of ideas, and rigorous scholarship. Accordingly, we strongly oppose Resolution 2014-1, which fails to advance the first of these two principles in any meaningful way and which grossly violates the third principle by advancing a discriminatory agenda based on flawed information and lack of context.

    For the rest, please read the full document.