Thursday’s Work-in-Progress

by Erika Dreifus on
Disabled

Right now, most of my writing time is going toward the drafting and revising of a talk I’ll be delivering next week at my home congregation in New Jersey. The presentation’s title is “Why Is This Jewish-American Writer Different from (Some) Other Jewish-american Writers?” I’m trying to articulate some things that I’ve been thinking about for a very long time. And it isn’t easy.

I spent a lot of time last weekend toiling on this talk, and I’ve spent many hours outside my 9-5 workdays this week working on it, as well. I am beginning to see some light at the end of this particular tunnel.

The light began to shine when I realized that if and when I turn this talk into an essay, I’ll be able to revise, cut, and expand, as appropriate. It may sound silly, but this realization somehow lifted a heavy burden.

The Wednesday Web Browser for Writers

by Erika Dreifus on
Disabled
  • I wish I had the time to comment on Elise Blackwell’s article, “What Defines a Successful Post-MFA Career?” It contains some excellent points, and it sparks additional thoughts. But my to-do list is already too crowded with things to take care of outside my full-time, no-summers-off, no-sabbatical day job.
  • Especially for anyone teaching composition/expository writing: tips on running a “speed-dating” peer-review workshop.
  • Happy Birthday to The Short Review! “This month The Short Review turns four years old. Over that time our forty or so reviewers worldwide have reviewed 439 story collections and anthologies, and we have interviewed over 250 authors … We all do what we do for love of the short story and to spread the word about as many short story collections as possible so readers can get hold of them, demand them from their local bookshops or libraries, buy them as presents.” P.S. Did you know that it is National Short Story Week in the U.K.?
  • I LOVE this advice from Leslie Pietrzyk: “How to Give an Excellent Reading.” Spot on.
  • If you’re participating in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), you probably don’t have the time to read these writing-related e-books right now (even if you can do so free of charge), but all writers may want to check out the batch of complimentary offerings. (Offers expire November 12!)
  • Speaking of NaNoWriMo, check out Susan Woodring’s inspirational blog post on the subject.
  • How great was it to open Sunday’s New York Times Magazine and find an interview with Philip Levine inside?
  • The International IMPAC DUBLIN literary award longlist has been released. Just in case you’re looking for another book to read.

    • Attention, High Schoolers (and Parents Thereof)

    by Erika Dreifus on
    Disabled

    It’s not every day (or, frankly, any day) that I wish I could be a high-schooler again. This new program is perhaps the only thing that could entice me to go back in time if I had the opportunity to do so.

    Great Jewish Books brings together eighteen rising high school juniors and seniors to read, discuss, argue about, and fall in love with some of the most powerful and enduring works of modern Jewish literature.

    During a week-long residency at the Yiddish Book Center on the campus of Hampshire College, participants will study with some of the nation’s most respected literary scholars, meet prominent contemporary authors, and connect with other teens from across the country. The 2012 program runs from Sunday, July 29 through Sunday, August 5.

    High school students entering their junior or senior year in fall 2012 are eligible to apply.

    Apply now!

    Tuition, room, meals, and books will be provided for accepted students through a generous grant from Michael Steinhardt.

    Application deadline is March 15, 2012. There is no application fee.

    Lily Renée, Escape Artist

    by Erika Dreifus on
    4

    Alerted and intrigued by Trina Robbins’s guest post for the Jewish Book Council blog, I spent part of Sunday afternoon at the lovely Books of Wonder bookstore in Manhattan, where Robbins and Lily Renée, the subject of Robbins’s Lily Renée: Escape Artist, spoke to a large group of admirers. (FYI: One of those admirers told me that she runs a website titled “Ladies Making Comics,” for those of you who may want to learn still more about “all the awesome women who make comics.”)

    Subtitled “From Holocaust Survivor to Comic Book Pioneer” and illustrated by Anne Timmons and Mo Oh, Lily Renée, Escape Artist, chronicles the early life of one such awesome woman: Lily Renée. Born in Vienna, Lily Renée Wilheim was a young teenager when the Nazis annexed Austria. She became part of a Kindertransport to England and was eventually reunited with her parents in New York, which is where her artistic talents helped her obtain paying work for a comic book publisher. That is the story and timespan covered in the new book.

    I must admit that I don’t normally read graphic narratives, and I also don’t spend much time with middle-grade literature, which is how this book seems to be categorized. I read through it quickly—it’s not long, and it captured and held my attention. I was impressed, and I hope that in the not-too-distant future I’ll be able to share it with my niece (8).

    I was interested to read others’ impressions of the book, not only on Goodreads, but also elsewhere on the Web. If you’re similarly intrigued, please click on.

    Quotation of the Week: “Herr Andreas Kellerman”

    by Erika Dreifus on
    2

    “‘Your father told me how he and Anna were saved by the man whose life Max saved on the train in the Great War. How extraordinary. But you know, everybody who survived has an extraordinary story. Otherwise, he’d be dead.'”

    Spoken by the character of “Herr Andreas Kellerman,” in Martin Fletcher’s new novel, The List. Emphasis added.

    This week–marking the anniversary of the Kristallnacht–I’m not quoting a writer on writing or citing something from an interview. I’m taking something directly from Martin Fletcher’s new novel. For my full review of The List, please click here.