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Calls for Subs for Jewish Lit Anthologies

by Erika Dreifus on
Disabled

Over the past several days I’ve learned about some current anthology projects on Jewish-related subjects, and they’re all seeking submissions.

First, if you’re from St. Louis, you may be interested in Winter Harvest, which “will feature writings which enhance and enrich Jewish life, submitted by members of the St. Louis Jewish community, including present and former St. Louisans. The types of works to be included will be fiction, poetry, folklore, life stories, essays, modern midrashim and art.” Submission deadline is September 30, 2010; publication will be spring 2011. Contributing writers “will receive one copy of the publication and additional copies may be purchased at a 50% discount. We are planning a reception and reading in the spring of 2011 at which all published contributors will be invited to participate.” (via CRWROPPS-B)

Next, A Midsummer Night’s Press is planning two anthologies celebrating queer Jewish poetry: Flamboyant: A Celebration of Jewish Gay Poetry, edited by Lawrence Schimel; and Milk and Honey: A Celebration of Jewish Lesbian Poetry, edited by Julie R. Enszer. Both books are slated for spring 2011 publication. “We are looking for poems that celebrate and question, meditate and intimate, argue and reconcile contemporary queer Jewish identity. What is queer Jewish experience in the twenty-first century? What poetry expresses queer Jewishness today?” The submission deadline is November 30, 2010, and payment will be three copies of the anthology per contributor.

L’shanah Tovah!

by Erika Dreifus on
Disabled

Happy New Year to all of My Machberet’s friends. We’re going to take a brief break for the holiday, and skip Friday’s Shabbat lit links this week. We’ll be sure to post again before Yom Kippur. L’shanah tovah!

Words of the Week: Phyllis Chesler

by Erika Dreifus on
Disabled

You know how some people threaten to cancel magazine subscriptions because of the covers that greet them (and their families) when they take the new issue out from the mailbox? Well, right now I’m seriously considering canceling my TIME subscription. Not because the cover (issue date: September 13, 2010) was lewd or inappropriate for young eyes. But rather, because the cover was coyly outrageous, unfair, offensive, and inappropriate for any eyes.

And so I share with you some wise words from Phyllis Chesler, motivated by this cover story.

I hope that people more fully understand that TIME Magazine as well as countless other media in the Western world, can no longer be trusted to tell the truth.

So sad. But so true.

J-Job Alert: Los Angeles

by Erika Dreifus on
Disabled

“The Six Points Fellowship for Emerging Jewish Artists, the leading supporter of emerging artists creating new Jewish culture, has a part-time opportunity for an Associate Director based in Los Angeles. We are looking for a self-motivated, resourceful and detail-oriented person to join the Six Points team. Working under the supervision of the fellowship’s New York-based Director, the Associate Director administers the day-to-day operations of the Los Angeles-based program. The Associate Director will work collaboratively with the Six Points Fellowship Director, who will play a significant role in devising and implementing the long-term strategy for the Los Angeles Fellowship Program.” For more information, check the Idealist.org listing.

Jonathan Franzen in NYC on September 8

by Erika Dreifus on
Disabled

Some of will surely be otherwise occupied on Wednesday night (brisket, anyone? evening services?). But if you’re going to be in NYC and have been intrigued by all the attention going to Jonathan Franzen and his new novel, you may want to see the author himself at the Union Square Barnes & Noble.

As The Jewish Week has noted:

Jonathan Franzen is not Jewish. But his latest novel, “Freedom,” perhaps the most anticipated novel of the year, is chock full of Jewish characters. Centered on a mixed marriage between a Christian and a Jew, Patty Berglund is the Jewish half. Given Franzen’s penchant for superbly rendered characters, it’s no wonder that Patty seems an echt-upper class, secular American Jew. Or does she? There’s already been a fair amount of online chatter that Patty and, more importantly, about a family friend in the novel who is a prominent Jewish neocon, is more caricature than realistic character. Of the Jewish neocon friend, Franzen writes: “He spoke of the ‘new blood libel’ that was circulating in the Arab world, the lie about there having been no Jews in the twin towers on 9/11, and of the need, in times of national emergency, to counter evil lies with benevolent half-truths.”