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On Changes in Jewish-American Writing

by Erika Dreifus on
Disabled

Last week, as I wrote in a post published yesterday on The Forward‘s “Arty Semite” blog, I attended

a panel with an intriguing title: “Contemporary Jewish-American Writing: What Has Changed?” Equally interesting, especially when attention is being paid to gender (in)equities in publishing, the panel proposed to discuss how women writers, in particular, have influenced the shifts. Although the event didn’t address all of its anticipated questions, it left me considering how my own recent reading in Jewish books — works whose content reflects an engagement with identifiably Jewish subjects, such as Jewish history, prayer, ritual, language and Israel — may reflect some of those shifts and changes.

Please go on over to The Arty Semite to keep reading.

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 literary news from around the Web.

  • Mark your calendar for next Wednesday’s Jewish Book Council/Jewcy Twitter Book Club. The featured guest is Jami Attenberg, author (most recently) of The Middlesteins.
  • Tablet magazine’s correspondent met recently with Shani Boianjiu in Israel; the result is this profile of the author of The People of Forever Are Not Afraid.
  • Crash course in the history of Jews in Russia, courtesy of Lea Zeltserman (responding, it must be said, to a problematic remark made by Shimon Peres).
  • Want to win a copy of the English translation of Eduardo Halfon’s The Polish Boxer? Read (and comment) here, by Sunday afternoon.
  • The latest issue of JewishFiction.net went live this week. From its editor, Dr. Nora Gold: “In this all-women’s issue, you will find 14 wonderful works of fiction, originally written in Yiddish, Spanish, Hebrew, and English, by authors originating from the Ukraine, Argentina, Israel, England, Canada, and the United States. And with Chanukah just around the corner, we bring you also a Chanukah story from Israel (“Roller Coaster”).” (I’m proud to say that I am the author of one of those 14 works!)
  • And last, but not least, I’m about a week into my gig as the Association of Jewish Libraries Writer-in-Residence. Come join the fun (and discussions) on the AJL Facebook page!

    • Shabbat shalom–and warm wishes for a joyous Hanukkah.

    My Year in Jewish Books (2012 edition)

    by Erika Dreifus on
    6

    Last year, I found it useful (and kind of fun) to look back on “my year in Jewish books.” So, borrowing some of the same introductory wording, I’m going to attempt to do something similar for 2012.

    Reviewing my reading for 2012 (thank you, Goodreads!), I can see that I do not and would not ever limit my reading to “Jewish books” exclusively. (By the way, I define “Jewish books” as books with substantive Jewish content/themes. In my view, non-Jewish authors can write “Jewish books.” And Jewish authors can write books that don’t strike me as particularly Jewish. I read several of those books this year, too.)

    But this year, as usual, I did read quite a few books that fall within the “Jewish book” category. And, as an advocate for Jewish literature, I’m proud of that.

    Below, you will find these books presented in the order in which I read them. (more…)

    Call for Contributions: December Jewish Book Carnival

    by Erika Dreifus on
    Disabled

    In addition to serving as the Association of Jewish Libraries (AJL) Facebook Writer-in-Residence for December, I’m also hosting the next monthly Jewish Book Carnival. What’s the Jewish Book Carnival, you ask? Like last month’s host, I’m going to borrow the description from the Jewish Book Council’s ProsenPeople blog, which hosted in October:

    “In case you’re new here, the series is a monthly event where book bloggers who promote Jewish literature come together to share some of their best content from the past month. Each month the round-up of posts can be found on a different Jewish literary blog, so be sure to check out Jewish Book Carnival HQ for future (and past) hosts (and posts!).

    Want to participate in the December Carnival, which will go live here on My Machberet after sundown on December 15? Please send the link to your chosen blog post to me by close-of-business on Monday, December 10. (Authors-who-blog: Please note that the carnival’s spirit emphasizes discussing other people’s work instead of our own.)

    I’m eager to receive your submissions (bonus points if you use “December Jewish Book Carnival” in the subject line of your e-mail), and I look forward to presenting a super-duper December Carnival for all to enjoy!

     

    On “Jewish” Writing: Reflections on Tablet Magazine’s New Fiction Series

    by Erika Dreifus on
    11

    As someone who spends a lot of time reading, writing about, and promoting Jewish literature—including, and perhaps especially, Jewish fiction—I’m mystified by the direction that Tablet magazine appears to be taking with its new fiction series.

    Tablet, as you may know, bears the trademarked tag line, “a new read on Jewish life,” and describes itself as a “daily online magazine of Jewish news, ideas, and culture.” It’s a magazine that I admire and enjoy; I was delighted when it added original fiction to its mix this fall. But that delight has turned to puzzlement–and a degree of dismay. (more…)