Pre-Shabbat Jewish Literary Links

Photo Credit: Reut Miryam Cohen
Photo Credit: Reut Miryam Cohen
Every Friday My Machberet presents an array of Jewish-interest links, primarily of the literary variety.

  • This week’s Israel in Translation podcast features poetry by Tuvia Ruebner, translated by Lisa Katz and Shahar Bram. Just beautiful.
  • I had reason the other day to refer someone to this resource page, which I designed for anyone seeking to publish Jewish-themed stories, poems, and essays. And it occurred to me that it had been a while since I’d mentioned that page here.
  • Terrific Tablet piece (by Jake Marmer) occasioned by the release of the film adaptation of André Aciman’s 2007 novel Call Me By Your Name.
  • From across the pond: “The longlist for the 2018 JQ (Jewish Quarterly) Wingate Prize has been announced, with “identity” singled out as this year’s overriding theme. Twelve books have been selected, including Judas by Amos Oz, Forest Dark by Nicole Krauss and The Dark Circle by Linda Grant. The prize, now in its 41st year, is run in association with the JW3 community centre. The winner of the £4,000 prize will be announced on February 15, 2018.”
  • And remember—you can win a copy of Leon Wiener Dow’s The Going: A Meditation on Jewish Law via this Goodreads giveaway. (If you’re interested in reviewing the book or otherwise profiling the author, please let me know!)
  • Shabbat shalom! And if you’ll be attending the Jewish Book Council’s Jewish Writers’ Seminar this weekend, please say hello!

    Pre-Shabbat Jewish Literary Links

    Photo Credit: Reut Miryam Cohen
    Photo Credit: Reut Miryam Cohen
    Every Friday My Machberet presents an array of Jewish-interest links, primarily of the literary variety.

  • Terrific tribute to Herman Wouk—who just turned 102—from Jeff Jacoby.
  • A beautiful piece for a Friday: “Marking God’s Time in Our Muslim and Orthodox Jewish Families,” by Saadia Faruqi and Shoshana Kordova, for Catapult.
  • A gift from across the pond: London’s Jewish Book Week festival archive.
  • ICYMI: big announcement about my work at Fig Tree Books over on my other blog.
  • “The Yiddish Book Center is accepting applications for a yearlong fellowship in development and fundraising. Fellows will gain hands-on, paid experience and professional training. The goal of the fellowship is to mentor the next generation of fundraising professionals interested in working in the Jewish cultural space.” Apply by July 1.
  • Shabbat shalom, everyone. And chag sameach.

    Pre-Shabbat Jewish Literary Links

    Photo Credit: Reut Miryam Cohen
    Photo Credit: Reut Miryam Cohen
    Every Friday My Machberet presents an array of Jewish-interest links, primarily of the literary variety.

  • It has been a big week for our team at Fig Tree Books: Abigail Pogrebin’s My Jewish Year: 18 Holidays, One Wondering Jew is officially out in the world. There’s been lots of great press so far. Appearing yesterday: a super Q&A on Gretchen Rubin’s blog (with a special shoutout for Shabbat).
  • This week also brought the latest Jewish Book Carnival, which routinely features news, reviews, and interviews from the Jewish literary blogosphere. (Hosted for March by Barbara Krasner/The Whole Megillah.)
  • A timely look, 50 years later, at “Natan Alterman or Amos Oz? The Six-Day War and Israeli Literature” (by Liam Hoare for Fathom).
  • Two superb “long reads” for the weekend: Maxim D. Shrayer’s Mosaic essay on Russia’s Jews, and Sabine Heinlein’s “The Restless Ghosts of Baiersdorf”.
  • And speaking of long reads—if you’ve never read George Eliot’s Daniel Deronda (or if you want to immerse yourself in it anew), the Tikvah Fund has an online learning opportunity for you.
  • Shabbat shalom, everyone!

    Pre-Shabbat Jewish Literary Links

    Photo Credit: Reut Miryam Cohen
    Photo Credit: Reut Miryam Cohen
    Every Friday My Machberet presents an array of Jewish-interest links, primarily of the literary variety.

  • Job alert: In the Twin Cities, “TC Jewfolk is seeking a highly motivated self-starter with experience in and passion for blogging, managing writers, and community journalism to be the Editor for TC Jewfolk. This role is a paid, part-time position (approximately 20-25 hours/week), with great flexibility.”
  • And in Boston, the Boston Jewish Film Festival is looking for a Festival Assistant and a Programming Assistant.
  • In the last moments of this week’s Unorthodox podcast (from Tablet magazine), Liel Leibovitz pays homage to George Eliot’s Daniel Deronda. Which inspires me to re-up this essay that I’ve written about that novel.
  • This week on Hevria: some “tough love” for artists & writers–with a Jewish twist.
  • ICYMI: Yesterday on this blog, I posted a call for applicants from the Yiddish Book Center. They’re looking for high-schoolers to attend the Great Jewish Books Summer Program (I wish this had existed back when I was in high school!).
  • Shabbat shalom.

    Words of the Week

    “In an apparent softening of party tone, Corbyn’s warm-up man, the journalist Owen Jones, recently reprimanded the Left for its ingrained anti-Semitism. Welcome words, but they will remain only words so long as the Corbynite Left – and indeed the not-so Corbynite Left – refuses to acknowledge the degree to which anti-Semitism is snarled up in the before and after of Israelophobia. The Stop The War Coalition is a sort of home to Jew-haters because its hate music about Israel is so catchy. It simplifies a complex and heartbreaking conflict, it elides causes and effects, it perpetuates a fable that flatters one side and demonises another, it ignores all instances of intransigence and cruelty but one, inflaming hatred and enabling the very racism it declares itself opposed to. 

    Let’s forget whether or not anti-Semitism is the root of this. It is sufficient that it is the consequence. Face that, Corbyn, or the offence you take at any imputation of prejudice is the hollow hypocrite’s offence, and your protestations of loving peace and justice, no matter who believes them, are as ash.”

    Read the full text of author Howard Jacobson’s “Corbyn may say he’s not anti-Semitic, but associating with the people he does is its own crime” on The Independent‘s website.

    A note: I’m sorry that the final “Words of the Week” entry for 5775 is not exactly upbeat. But as a writer, I found that Jacobson’s piece took on greater urgency for me because just as I discovered it I also ran across news of a “Poets for Corbyn” project. And then, this morning, came the news from Britain that Corbyn has been elected Labour Party leader.