Jewish Literary Links for Shabbat
Shabbat shalom!
(Photo by Reut Miryam Cohen.)
QUIET AMERICANS: A Jewish Journal Notable Book of 2011
The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles–the largest Jewish weekly outside New York City–has named Quiet Americans a “notable book of 2011.” To say that I am honored is an extreme understatement. I am frankly overwhelmed to find my book in the company of the other “notable” works by Gershom Gorenberg, Hirsh Goodman, James Carroll, Simon Sebag Montefiore, Art Spiegelman, Joseph Braude, Michael Levy, and Deborah E. Lipstadt.
In explaining the choice of Quiet Americans, Books Editor Jonathan Kirsch writes:
History, as James Joyce once wrote, is a nightmare from which we struggle to awaken. But literary journalist Erika Dreifus is courageous enough to confront the terrors from deep within that nightmare in her debut work of fiction, “Quiet Americans” (Last Light Studio: $13.95), a deeply affecting collection of short stories that contemplate how the long shadow of the Holocaust falls across the lives of men and women who come alive in her work. She works in a lapidary prose, every word considered and chosen with care, and yet the writing is always clear and compelling. But Dreifus does not confine herself to the kind of character studies and slice-of-life sketches that are the stock-in-trade of so many short-story writers. Rather, she cares deeply about history — her own family history and the larger history that we all inhabit — and that’s what makes her stories both engaging and consequential.
In addition to the notable books article, The Jewish Journal has also announced the winner of the first Jewish Journal Book Prize: Nancy K. Miller’s What They Saved: Pieces of a Jewish Past. Read more about that book–and The Jewish Journal‘s literary coverage, right here.
Words of the Week: Harvey Freedenberg, on Tony Judt
“Because Judt’s fearless opinions are expressed so pointedly and with such passion, it’s unlikely readers will ever find themselves in total agreement with him. But whether one adopts or rejects his worldview, this invigorating dialogue grants us the privilege of encountering a fertile mind in all its vibrancy, gone far too soon.”
Source: Harvey Freedenberg’s Shelf Awareness review of Thinking the Twentieth Century, by Tony Judt with Timothy Snyder. I’m grateful to Harvey helping me articulate some of my own complicated feelings about Judt and his work, which I first encountered (and admired) as a student of European history, but later shrank from when it came to Judt’s take on Israel.
Anthology Seeks Work from Jewish Women Writers
I’ll admit that I was a little surprised when I saw this call for submissions, which showed up on a list I subscribe to titled PayingWriterJobs. I was surprised because there’s no payment for selected work. But, as I’ve said before, because the publication opportunities with Jewish-themed magazines and websites are more limited than those that I feature on Practicing Writing and in The Practicing Writer, I relax the “must-pay” standard when I post opportunities for writers on My Machberet. So here you go: (more…)
Jewish Literary Links for Shabbat
Shabbat shalom!