Sunday Sentence

by Erika Dreifus on
4

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In which I participate in David Abrams’s “Sunday Sentence” project, sharing the best sentence I’ve read during the past week, “out of context and without commentary.”

The triple track means that bakers, pastry-makers, and pastry chefs live in an atmosphere of mutual recrimination and suspicion, the blurred lines between them leading each to think that he is the real sweetmaker, the others mere attendants—more or less the way comp-lit, English, and women’s-studies departments all make simultaneous bad-tempered claims on Virginia Woolf.

Source: Adam Gopnik, “Bakeoff” (The New Yorker)

Words of the Week

by Erika Dreifus on
Disabled

“That cartoon was irresponsible and has great potential to ultimately do far more damage to Israel and [to the] Jewish people in general than it does to the policies Netanyahu or Likud.”
–Derek Kwait, “Collapsing Towers: Liveblogging My Quarrel with Haaretz” (New Voices)

“It is tough to say what is the most stomach-turning aspect of this. Is it that Hamas managed to bully and intimidate foreign journalists en masse for almost two months and get away with it? Is it the fact that this bullying and intimidation successfully prevented the world from receiving an objective picture of what this awful war was really all about? Or is it the fact that the principal correspondent of the New York Times either had no clue about what was happening, or instinctively desired to deny it, or both?”
–Jeff Robbins, “A Willful Ignorance on Israel” (The Times of Israel) (more…)

Friday Finds for Writers

by Erika Dreifus on
3

Treasure Chest
Writing-related resources, news, and reflections to enjoy over the weekend.

  • Ethan Gilsdorf shares “5 Things Your Personal Essay Needs to Have.”
  • From Poets & Writers: “Let’s Just Do This: Eleven Small-Press Authors and their Publishing Partners.”
  • “I used to worry about the fact that my writing identity fits no particular niche and that my career seems headed towards no particular goal.” So begins an excellent post by Nina Badzin on “Letting Go of What Comes Next.“
  • A terrific Q&A with Mark Polizzotti, who translates into English the work of Patrick Modiano. (And he has a heavy-duty “day job,” too.)
  • And because this message cannot be conveyed too often–a reminder about the range and roominess of the “nonfiction” genre.

    • Have a great weekend!

    Pre-Shabbat Jewish Literary Links

    by Erika Dreifus on
    Disabled

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

  • Part-time job for a PJ Library Coordinator in St. Paul, Minnesota.
  • I’ll admit that I have resisted reading all the terrible details of the sickening Rabbi Freundel story. But I’m glad that I read Matthue Roth’s essay-post on the subject for Hevria.
  • A gorgeous–and haunting–meditation from Richard Chess on the “Good Letters” blog.
  • A review of Meyer Levin’s literary thriller Compulsion–from October 1956.
  • On my weekend listening agenda: the latest “Israel Story” podcast. (It’s book-themed.)

    • Shabbat shalom.

    Wednesday’s Work-in-Progress

    by Erika Dreifus on
    4

    Some writerly-readerly highlights from the past week:

  • Met Gary Shteyngart! At a conversation between Sasha Senderovich and him that took place at Baruch College of The City University of New York.
  • Received  Missouri Review contributor copies including my most recent review-essay.
  • Spent a quality weekend morning drinking coffee & talking writing with a friend.
  • Received another rejection for my aforementioned humor piece.
  • Continued to submit my aforementioned humor piece.
  • Received an invitation to give a talk to writers on the subject of writing contests.
  • Finished reading a remarkable novel.
  • Put some finishing touches on the November issue of The Practicing Writer.

    • Not a whole lot of actual writing there, alas. (I could enumerate some of my “day job” activities, including “writing a new blog post,” but I’ve opted not to go into detail re: that work.)

    How about you and your week?