Words of the Week

by Erika Dreifus on
Disabled

I am nearly fifty years old, and for American Jews of my generation, my grandpa’s story is both an ordinary one—for it was mirrored in the experiences of grandparents of many of American Jews who grew up in the safety of ’60s and ’70s America—and an extraordinary one, because it described a lost world that took on mythic proportions in my imagination, of a life filled with danger and split-second decisions that could mean living or dying.

Source: Howard Lovy, “I Will Not Join in the Snooty Trashing of Self-Published Books; Here’s Why” (Foreword Reviews blog)

Pre-Shabbat Jewish Literary Links

by Erika Dreifus on
Disabled

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

  • Looking forward to settling in with the latest issue of JewishFiction.Net.
  • Thrilled to see both fall releases from Fig Tree Books (plus a lot of other great titles) featured in the seasonal books preview from The Jewish Week.
  • Loved Alexandra Zapruder’s essay, “Beyond Anne Frank,” about Zapruder’s experiences with her book Salvaged Pages: Young Writers’ Diaries of the Holocaust, now out in a new edition.
  • I went on a bit of a book-buying spree this week. One purchase resulted from reading this article in Haaretz.
  • Finally: Mazal tov to Sharon Hart-Green, translator and editor, on the publication of Bridging the Divide: The Selected Poems of Hava Pinhas-Cohen.

    • Shabbat shalom.

    From My Bookshelf

    by Erika Dreifus on
    Disabled

    UnknownWhen William Daroff speaks, I listen. Thus, last week’s vacation reading included Einat Wilf‘s new e-book, Winning the War of Words: Essays on Zionism and Israel (edited by Daniel Rubinstein).

    Prior to downloading and reading the e-book, I was not familiar with Wilf’s work (or, at least, did not clearly recall her byline). Formerly a member of the Israeli Knesset, she is a self-described “Roving Ambassador for Israel and Zionism, telling our story to a variety of audiences.” Judging by the essays in this collection, that’s good news for Israel and Zionism–and by extension, for all of us.

    Since the book essentially compiles a number of Wilf’s published writings, I can point you directly to some of the essays that impressed me as especially cogent, insightful, and relevant to discussions and debates I’ve seen play out elsewhere. (more…)

    Pre-Shabbat Jewish Literary Links

    by Erika Dreifus on
    Disabled

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

  • This week brought the August edition of the Jewish Book Carnival, featuring news, reviews, and interviews from the world of Jewish books.
  • The week also brought this wonderful news: Marge Piercy has chosen my friend Rachel Hall’s gorgeous manuscript of linked short stories, Heirlooms, as winner of the BkMk Press/G.S. Sharat Chandra Prize for Short Fiction. Friends, you will love this book, and I’ll be telling you more about it as it continues its way toward publication.
  • Thanks to the Tikvah Fund, you can listen in on a recent conversation with Dara Horn on Jewish literature and life.
  • And thanks to our team at Fig Tree Books, you can enter a new giveaway to win an advance copy of Edward Lewis Wallant’s The Pawnbroker, featuring Dara’s extraordinary new foreword.
  • Speaking of Fig Tree Books, our August newsletter went out to subscribers this week.

    • Shabbat shalom to all