Kristallnacht in Poetry & Prose

by Erika Dreifus on
4
The shattered stained glass windows of the Zerrennerstrasse synagogue after its destruction on Kristallnacht. Pforzheim, Germany, ca. November 10, 1938. (USHMM/Stadtarchiv Pforzheim)
The shattered stained glass windows of the Zerrennerstrasse synagogue after its destruction on Kristallnacht. Pforzheim, Germany, ca. November 10, 1938. (USHMM/Stadtarchiv Pforzheim)

“Kristallnacht, literally, “Night of Crystal,” is often referred to as the “Night of Broken Glass.” The name refers to the wave of violent anti-Jewish pogroms which took place on November 9 and 10, 1938, throughout Germany, annexed Austria, and in areas of the Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia recently occupied by German troops.”

“Kristallnacht figures as an essential turning point in Nazi Germany’s persecution of Jews, which culminated in the attempt to annihilate the European Jews.”

Both of my paternal grandparents had arrived safely in the United States before the Kristallnacht of November 1938. And yet, among the stories my grandmother told over the years, the tale of how her parents and other loved ones back in Germany experienced the horrific events lodged in my mind and in my heart. (more…)

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.

  • Marjorie Ingall considers the plethora of poultry in new Jewish children’s books.
  • Over on The Whole Megillah, there’s an exciting announcement about the first “Whole Megillah Conference on Jewish Story,” scheduled for May 2014 and covering children’s writing, memoir, poetry, and fiction.
  • If you’ve got a blog post to contribute to the next Jewish Book Carnival, you have until Monday (November 11) to send it in to this month’s host. Details here.
  • I plan to take some time this weekend to peruse the latest issue of Blue Lyra Review, a journal whose self-described aim “is to bring together the voices of writers and artists from a diverse array of backgrounds, paying special homage to Jewish writers and other communities that are historically underrepresented in literary magazines.”
  • A reminder: This weekend marks the 75th anniversary of Kristallnacht. (Some of my own family history from that episode turns up in one of the stories in my collection Quiet Americans.)

    • Shabbat shalom.

    Jewish Playwriting 101: Let’s #MakeItHappen

    by Erika Dreifus on
    3

    SchustermanlogoIf you follow my Practicing Writing blog, you may recall that over the past several months, I’ve been trying to learn a little more about playwriting.

    As with much of my creative work, I’m drawn especially to the idea of writing a play with specifically Jewish content. (Actually, I might adapt a short story by another writer, although I’ve also considered adapting work of my own.)

    Part of my learning process to date has consisted of attending plays and, to stretch a popular phrase, “watching as a writer.” In the past 10 days or so, in fact, I’ve seen three Jewishly-focused productions: “The Model Apartment” (Judith Miller’s review for Tablet echoes my thoughts on that one); “Bad Jews” (about which I’m less enthusiastic than Miller is); and the standout: “Arafat in Therapy.”

    A solo show written and performed by Australian-Israeli Jeremie Bracka, “Arafat in Therapy” came to my attention via The Jewish Week. Its format and style remind me of Anna Deavere Smith’s “Fires in the Mirror,” which I saw many years ago in Massachusetts (although Bracka did not use interviews to shape his characters). Again, I’m struck by the extraordinary talents that are involved in writing and performing these solo shows that feature multiple characters.

    My personal ambitions are much more modest. At the moment, my main ambition is simply to learn how to write a play. Ideally, I’d do this in a Jewish context.

    And if the Schusterman Foundation funds my #MakeItHappen micro-grant proposal, “Jewish Playwriting 101” will become a reality.

    Read all about my idea. “Like” it! Share it! And let me know what you think about it!

    Thank you.

    Words of the Week: Hillel Halkin

    by Erika Dreifus on
    1

    LettersToAmericanJewishFriend

    “I didn’t write the book to defend Israeli policies, and I have never believed that, as a Jew, I should have to make the case for Israel’s existence to anyone. Whoever disputes it deserves to be scorned, not reasoned with.”

    Source: Hillel Halkin, “Letters to an American Friend,” in Mosaic magazine.

    This piece is a version of the introduction to a reissued edition of the book, which I’ve already pre-ordered.

    Jewish Literary Links for Shabbat

    by Erika Dreifus on
    2

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

  • “After teaching in a UK haredi girls school, secular Jewish author Eve Harris writes a sympathetic 400-page novel about that world’s biggest problems.” The Times of Israel on The Marrying of Chani Kaufman.
  • Nice to see that Israel will be the “guest of honor” at this year’s Guadalajara International Book Fair.
  • From Hadassah magazine: a profile of the Jewish Book Council’s exceptional director, Carolyn Starman Hessel.
  • Another example of a “Jewish book” without a Jewish author: Tablet magazine on “A Horror Story Set in Hasidic Crown Heights.”
  • Another prize for Francesca Segal & The Innocents.

    • Shabbat shalom.