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May Event in D.C.—Family Stories: Daughters, Mothers, and Bubbes

by Erika Dreifus on
Disabled

On Sunday, I was fortunate to visit the National Museum of American Jewish Military History, a marvelous gem of a place near Dupont Circle in Washington. I was there to give a reading from my new short-story collection, Quiet Americans, but I also had time to tour the exhibitions, and I’m so glad that I did.

While I was there, I learned about a forthcoming event that may be of interest to some of you:

The National Museum of American Jewish Military History and The Washington DC Jewish Community Center present:

Family Stories: Daughters, Mothers, and Bubbes
Sunday May 1, 2011, 1pm-5pm

Are you a photographer, an artist, a filmmaker? A writer or storyteller? A stand-up comedian, dancer, or singer? Always wanted to try one of these? Come show off your talents!

On May 1, the museum and the Washington, DC Jewish Community Center will devote this special afternoon to some of the most important women in our lives. We invite you to portray your beloved female relatives through a skit, scrapbook, video, song and dance routine, or whatever your imagination can conjure.

For more details and submission information, please visit the NMAJMH website.

As Promised: Handout for “Beyond Bagels & Lox: Jewish-American Fiction in the 21st Century”

by Erika Dreifus on
1

Last night I returned from an exhilarating several days in Washington, where I attended the annual conference of the Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP) and visited the National Museum of American Jewish Military History for a reading from Quiet Americans. I have so much to share with you about this trip, but for the moment, I want to focus on last Thursday’s conference panel: “Beyond Bagels & Lox: Jewish-American Fiction in the 21st Century,” which was listed in the conference program as follows:

Beyond Bagels and Lox: Jewish-American Fiction in the 21st Century. (Erika Dreifus, Andrew Furman, Kevin Haworth, Margot Singer, Anna Solomon) Jewish-American fiction has long been seen as a literature of emigration from the shtetl, assimilationist angst, and overprotective parents. But what’s nu? How do Americans born decades after the Holocaust and the birth of the State of Israel deal with those complex subjects in fiction? Who are the new Jewish immigrant characters? How does American Jewry’s more than 350-year history inspire plot/setting? And how are writers today influenced by Judaism’s rich multilingual and spiritual legacy?

We were assigned a fairly large meeting room, and we were delighted to see that the room was packed. In fact, we ran out of the handouts we’d brought with us, so I promised to post the handout online. Please click here for the PDF. As noted on the handout, our reading list is utterly incomplete–as would be any single-page, double-sided document of this sort. But we think that the handout can be useful nonetheless.

A round of thanks to my amazing co-panelists, and to our interested and engaged audience.

American Jewish Fiction: Strange & Surprising Stories

by Erika Dreifus on
Disabled

Via the Jewish Book Council, I’ve learned of an exciting event coming up in New York City on Sunday afternoon, February 13. “American Jewish Fiction: Strange and Surprising Stories,” with guest speaker Josh Lambert, will be presented by the Jewish Historical Society of New York. (There will be a $5 admission charge.)

American novels have featured Jewish characters for over a century, and these books tell strange and surprising stories about the experiences of American Jews. What sort of books should be considered Jewish American novels? What are the common narratives and tropes of such works of fiction, and why are they repeated so frequently in the literature of the United States? Who writes these books, and for what audiences? Focusing on some of the earliest and most unusual novels in the American Jewish tradition, and highlighting a few lost gems along the way, this lecture will survey the history of American Jewish fiction and discuss its achievements and possibilities.

For more event details, and Josh Lambert’s very impressive bio, please click here.

Words of the Week: David Abrams

by Erika Dreifus on
3

She’s a classic storyteller and there’s a clear, direct line from Isaac Bashevis Singer and Bernard Malamud to her 21st-century keyboard.

Please forgive me, but I can’t resist sharing this snippet from a review of my new short-story collection, Quiet Americans. The reviewer is David Abrams, and you can read his full take on the book right here. High praise, indeed! Thank you, David.

Assuming that the trains are running despite snow/ice/sleet, I will be on my way to the Association of Writers & Writing Programs (AWP) conference in D.C. tomorrow. I’m unlikely to post while I’m away, but I should have plenty to share once I return.

Have a great several days. See you back here soon.

Notes from Around the Web: Jewish Literary Links for Shabbat

by Erika Dreifus on
Disabled

Many apologies for missing last week’s lit-links post. And fair warning: I’m unlikely to post next Friday as well: I’ll be away at the Association of Writers & Writing Programs conference. But don’t worry: I shall return!

  • The New Vilna Review presents an informative interview with Carol Hupping of the Jewish Publication Society, digging into the JPS’s past, present, and future.
  • Having recently gone to see the Hannah Senesh exhibition at the Museum of Jewish Heritage, I appreciated Elissa Strauss’s post about it for The Forward’s Sisterhood blog.
  • Fiction Writers Review has posted an exceedingly interesting interview with Jacob Paul, author of Sarah/Sara, which I reviewed (also for FWR) last year.
  • I’ve been noticing a growing cluster of Holocaust-related books authored by grandchildren of those who lived under Nazism. Among the latest (in addition, of course, to my own Quiet Americans, which was officially released last week) is Johanna Adorjan’s An Exclusive Love. Subtitled “A Memoir,” Adorjan’s book is, in the words of Jewish Journal’s reviewer Elaine Margolin, “an imaginative piece of work that blends fact and fantasy.”
  • And on a related note: Last Sunday’s New York Times Book Review featured a piece on Ferdinand von Schirach’s Crime (translated by Carol Brown Janeway): “To say that Germans and guilt have a special relationship would be to dive into the deep end of platitude, but in von Schirach’s case it’s difficult not to raise the issue, and not only because he’s titled his preface ‘Guilt.’ His grandfather, Baldur von Schirach, head of the Hitler Youth for most of the 1930s and later the wartime governor of Vienna, was convicted of crimes against humanity at Nuremberg.” Tbr, to be sure.
  • Finally, I hope that you’re following my virtual book tour for my new short-story collection, Quiet Americans. Several of the “stops” feature material of Jewish literary interest. Check out the itinerary (with brief content descriptions) here. (Plus, some really lovely reviews have been coming in.)

    • Shabbat shalom!