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Talking About Poetry (and Israel) on the Radio

by Erika Dreifus on
4

If you’re reading this before Sunday morning, November 25 (around 9 a.m., Eastern time), you still have time to prepare to catch me on the radio! I’ve been asked to appear on Shalom USA Radio to read my poem, “Questions for the Critics,” and talk a bit about its genesis. I’m looking forward to this opportunity (even if I’m slightly terrified to be broadcasting live). If you want to listen in, you can do so here. Please wish me luck!

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.

  • On the occasion of the publication of Herman Wouk’s latest novel, Adam Kirsch revisits Wouk’s major writings and career.
  • A big thank-you to The Kenyon Review for posting audio of Elie Wiesel’s acceptance speech on November 8, when he received the 2012 Kenyon Review Award for Literary Achievement.
  • Paid, part-time internship opportunity with the Jewish Book Council in New York. Apply by December 17.
  • Further thoughts stemming from Philip Roth’s retirement announcement, from Jason Diamond and D.G. Myers.
  • Right after his November 15 reading at Baruch College, Etgar Keret headed home to Israel. Shortly thereafter, it seems, he wrote this.
  • This week was, again, a time when I (to paraphrase a rabbi friend) thought often of our cousins in the East. To stay informed, I relied extensively on The Times of Israel, Tablet, Jeffrey Goldberg, and the URJ’s Israel page.

    • Shabbat shalom to all. And special thanks to RJ.org for publishing my poem, “Questions for the Critics,” on Tuesday.

    Jewish Book Carnival (Plus an Announcement About My Newest Role)

    by Erika Dreifus on
    2

    It’s mid-month, which means that it’s once again time for the Jewish Book Carnival, organized by the Association of Jewish Libraries (AJL). Please click through to find all the posts on Jewish books and writing that the Carnival contributors are sharing this month.

    You’ll see, too, that we’ll be hosting the Carnival right here on My Machberet next month. And there’s one more exciting announcement included in the Carnival: Yours truly will be the AJL’s Facebook Writer-in-Residence during the month of December. Don’t miss any of those posts and discussions! “Like” the AJL’s Facebook page today!

    Advice for Jewish Writers

    by Erika Dreifus on
    11

    I receive a lot of email. Increasingly, many of these incoming messages are from writers whose work – fiction, poetry, or nonfiction – features Jewish themes or subjects. Frequently, these writers are asking varieties of the same question: Who will publish my work?

    Unfortunately, I’m not currently offering coaching or consulting services (if and when that situation changes, I’ll be sure to let you all know!), and I simply do not have the time to provide each correspondent with individualized advice. My hope is that this website – offering generalized resources for writers, information curated specifically for those of us who write on Jewish subjects, archived author interviews  (including a number of self-identified “Jewish writers”), frequent blog posts, and The Practicing Writer newsletter – can assist a large readership-that-writes.

    But some questions are coming up so often that I’m inspired to offer some more targeted advice, publicly. (more…)

    Jewish Literary Links for Shabbat

    by Erika Dreifus on
    1

    Photo Credit: Reut Miryam Cohen
    Every Friday morning My Machberet presents an assortment of Jewish literary news from around the Web.

  • First: This week brought the release of an English translation of a newly discovered poem, “Hora to an Exiled Girl,” by Hannah Senesh.
  • Next up: Michael Chabon’s latest novel, Telegraph Avenue, will be released next week. Reviewer Diane Cole describes it as a “lively portrait of a community where blacks and whites, Jews and Christians, politicians of every party, all manage to overcome their own latent (and sometimes blatant) prejudices to settle conflicts, both personal and public, and live peacefully together.”
  • And if you’re looking for some more fall books on Jewish themes, this preview should help you find a few.
  • As The New York Times notes, Philip Roth has a new biographer.
  • A college student whose grandmother survived the Nazi occupation of Budapest reflects on “generational memory” of the Holocaust and her writing. (I can’t help thinking that, as is being reported, not everyone in the third generation may be “traumatized” by their grandparents’ histories. But there sure are increasing numbers of us writing about it these days.)
  • And if you missed it on my other blog, a couple of days ago I shared some thoughts about (and examples of) “Bat Mitzvah poetry”–plus a family photo.

    • Shabbat shalom.