Jewish Literary Links for Shabbat

by Erika Dreifus on
4
Photo Credit: Reut Miryam Cohen
  • Caught up a few days ago with a terrific new story by Joan Leegant, “Displaced Persons,” that is set in Israel.
  • And speaking of stories, a new issue of JewishFiction.net is now available.
  • Editors and agents may now apply for the Jerusalem International Book Fair Fellowship.
  • MyJewishLearning.com is looking for a full-time Editorial Assistant.
  • Further piquing my considerable interest: Janet Maslin’s review of Jonathan Sarna’s When General Grant Expelled the Jews.
  • New Jersey Jewish News spotlights the Jewish Plays Project.
  • And a couple of literary notes of my own: my review of Nathan Englander’s new story collection and a bit about my latest poem, “Jerusalem Dream.”

    • Shabbat Shalom and Chag Pesach Sameach!

    Oy! Only Six? Why Not More? Six-Word Memoirs on Jewish Life

    by Erika Dreifus on
    5

    If I were in Washington this evening, I’d try to get over to Sixth & I Historic Synagogue for a program featuring a few of the contributors to Oy! Only Six? Why Not More? Six-Word Memoirs on Jewish Life. This new book contains “360 stories of faith and family, duty and identity, celebration and tsuris that will inform, delight and inspire—six words at a time.”

    And I’ve recently learned that my own six-word memoir is among them.

    For some background on the project, check out editor Larry Smith’s explanation. And then go ahead and peruse the free preview.

    I’m eagerly awaiting the arrival of my contributor’s copy!

    UPDATE: It arrived! And I love it! And I’ve learned even more about the book from its coverage on The Forward‘s Arty Semite blog.

    Jewish Literary Links for Shabbat

    by Erika Dreifus on
    Disabled
    Photo Credit: Reut Miryam Cohen
  • This upcoming (April 17) free session at the New York Public Library may assist your research: “This lecture will describe the wealth of resources available at institutions throughout the New York area for doing Jewish family history research. The talk will be geared to beginners and intermediate researchers, and will focus on those families whose ancestors who came to the U.S. starting with the great migration which began in the late 1880s.”
  • Historian Sarah Maza takes a closer look at Irene Nemirovsky’s Suite Francaise: “Némirovsky’s vivid fiction-in-real-time – not to mention the author’s life story – has a great deal to offer to undergraduates studying the period, although some caveats apply.”
  • Two weeks from Sunday I’ll be speaking at NYC’s City Congregation for Humanistic Judaism. My topic: “MY GERMAN-JEWISH GRANDPARENTS AND THIRD-GENERATION PREOCCUPATIONS: History, Healing, and Happily Ever After?”
  • “The International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation is calling artists to submit works inspired by the deeds of Raoul Wallenberg and their legacy. Selected works will be published in an e-book compilation created in commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of Raoul Wallenberg’s birthday. This call is open for artists working within the fields of creative writing, drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, photography and mixed media. The application deadline is Monday, May 16, 2012.” No application fee; payment info not indicated.
  • Inspired by Rabbi Lawrence Hoffman, Rabbi Karen Perolman shares some initial titles that she considers to be “great Jewish books.”
  • Tablet situates Etgar Keret’s latest story collection in the history of Israeli literature–and the history of Keret’s.

    • Shabbat shalom!

    Daniel Pearl Investigative Journalism Initiative

    by Erika Dreifus on
    Disabled

    From Moment magazine: The Daniel Pearl Investigative Journalism Initiative, “[c]reated in memory of the 38-year-old Wall Street Journal reporter slain by terrorists in 2002, is designed to encourage young journalists to write in-depth stories about a modern manifestation of anti-Semitism or another deeply ingrained prejudice. The DPIJI will help writers develop their ideas, mentor them and provide them with a stipend of $5000 ($2500 upon selection and $2500 upon completion of the project). Moment will edit and publish their stories, possibly in conjunction with another media outlet. Applicants must be between the ages of 22 and 38.” No application fee. Deadline: April 4, 2012.

    Jewish Literary Links for Shabbat

    by Erika Dreifus on
    Disabled
    Photo Credit: Reut Miryam Cohen
  • Adding this to my TBR list: Shani Boianjiu’s The People of Forever Are Not Afraid. According to Shelf Awareness, the novel “follows three teenage friends from the same Israeli village as they’re conscripted into the army, an experience that alters their lives in irrevocable and unpredictable ways.” The book will be out in September.
  • Leah Vincent explains why she is shopping around her “ex-frum” memoir.
  • On The Whole Megillah, Barbara Krasner interviews poet Elana Bell. (Krasner encountered Bell at a recent conference, where Bell was part of a panel titled “Not Your Bubbe’s Poetry.”)
  • I tried to stay open-minded reading this article. Until I got to the totally un-qualified use of the word “Nakba.”
  • It’s hard to know quite how to respond to these statements from Israeli author A.B. Yehoshua. Except to say that I prefer to believe in Klal Yisrael.

    • Shabbat shalom!