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Jewish Book Carnival: March Edition

by Erika Dreifus on
Disabled

It’s the 15th of the month, and you know what that means!

Another convocation of the Jewish Book Carnival!

This month, the Carnival is hosted over on Linda K. Wertheimer’s wonderful Jewish Muse blog. Go on over and take a look at the links Linda has collected there. Dani Shapiro, Anita Diamant, and many others taking part. I’m looking forward to perusing everything more leisurely when I’m not at work (and not trying to squeeze too much–like drafting this post–into my lunch hour!).

Words of the Week: Cynthia (“Shoshana”) Ozick

by Erika Dreifus on
Disabled

Last Wednesday, Cynthia Ozick received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Jewish Book Council. These words are taken from “Shoshana” Ozick’s acceptance speech:

The inmost structure of a Jewish writer will carry the history of a long, long procession of Jewish ideas and experiences — and this will hold whether the writer wishes to abandon or cultivate those ideas and experiences. In either case, they must be grappled with.

I recommend the entire speech. Do read it.

Notes from Around the Web: Jewish Literary Links for Shabbat

by Erika Dreifus on
Disabled
  • The Jewish Book Council wants your recipes!
  • Job alert: the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) is looking for a Web Editor (the job is in New York). “The ideal candidate will have extensive journalistic experience and keen editorial judgment, familiarity with the broad range of Jewish communal issues, web editing experience, social media savvy, the ability to work quickly and juggle multiple deadlines, creative talent and the flexibility to be a team player and fill in with other editorial duties when necessary.
  • This week I continued to add links on my tribute page for Czech Jewish writer Arnost Lustig (1926-2011)
  • Here’s one way to share the title of any Jewish book you may be reading: Join in the #FridayReads fun on Twitter each Friday. Simply log in, post the title, and be sure to include the #FridayReads hashtag.
  • Speaking of Twitter, I am honored that the Jewish Book Council has chosen my story collection, Quiet Americans, as April’s Twitter Book Club title. Please join the discussion on April 12!

    • Shabbat shalom and chag Purim!

    Upcoming Jewish Literary Events at the Museum of Jewish Heritage

    by Erika Dreifus on
    Disabled

    The Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York recently released its spring calendar, and there are some excellent literary events being planned:

    Check event details for ticket prices and other information.

    Convergences: Biguenet’s “I Am Not a Jew,” “Mishpocha,” and Arnost Lustig

    by Erika Dreifus on
    Disabled

    On February 27, a few hours after I learned of the passing of Arnost Lustig, I listened to a Selected Shorts broadcast featuring John Biguenet’s story, “I Am Not a Jew.” As the series describes it, this is a story “in which a frightened tourist has a failure of nerve that resonates deeply. SHORTS literary commentator Hannah Tinti notes: ‘What makes ‘I Am Not a Jew’ so disturbing is how it dissects the ways we collectively excuse ourselves from standing up for what’s right.'”

    It didn’t take long for me to discern that the situation that the tourist faces in Biguenet’s story shares some similarities with an episode described in “Mishpocha,” the closing story in my collection, Quiet Americans. Even before I wrote the story, the episode troubled me enough that I mentioned it in a workshop led by Arnost Lustig. I wrote about this during my January “virtual tour” for Quiet Americans. Since last Sunday, Biguenet’s story–combined with Arnost’s passing–has me thinking about it all over again.