Jewish Literary Links for Shabbat

Photo Credit: Reut Miryam Cohen

Every Friday morning My Machberet presents an assortment of links, primarily of the literary variety.

  • The May Jewish Book Carnival is now online. Check out the recommended links for lots of recent news, reviews, and interviews.
  • Rabbi Rachel Barenblat offers reflections on motherhood and context for her new book of poems over on ZEEK.
  • Q&A with Rutu Modan, whose forthcoming graphic novel, The Property, is on my TBR list.
  • The Whole Megillah presents a Q&A with author Lesléa Newman.
  • Last, but maybe not least: I’m offering a free, signed copy of Quiet Americans to the winner of this Short Story Month Giveaway.
  • Shabbat shalom!

    Jewish Literary Links for Shabbat

    Photo Credit: Reut Miryam Cohen
    Every Friday morning My Machberet presents an assortment of links, primarily of the literary variety.

  • Beautiful essay on the “spiritual fitness regimen” that Michelle Brafman adopted before her daughter’s Bat Mitzvah.
  • Events for Anglo-Israeli writers near Jerusalem, coordinated by Judy Labensohn.
  • The KlezKanada Poetry Retreat is slated for August 19-25, 2013. Those who are between 16 and 35 years of age may apply for scholarships (deadline: May 1, 2013, so hurry!).
  • On Jewish Ideas Daily, Diane Cole recommends a translation of Israeli author Nava Semel’s Paper Bride.
  • JTA is looking for a Feature Writer.
  • Last, but not least: I’m grateful to the Young Friends Book Club of the Museum of Jewish Heritage here in New York for hosting Quiet Americans and me next month.
  • Shabbat shalom.

    Jewish Literary Links for Shabbat

    Photo Credit: Reut Miryam Cohen
    Every Friday morning My Machberet presents an assortment of links, primarily of the literary variety.

  • A new issue of JewishFiction.net is always a cause for celebration.
  • Some background on the Sophie Brody Medal for outstanding achievement in Jewish literature (includes a shout-out to Quiet Americans!).
  • Mazel tov to Francesca Segal, winner of the 2013 Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature for her novel The Innocents.
  • Some context for how I discovered Atar Hadari’s stories “about how a man loses pieces of his life on a religious kibbutz in Israel.”
  • This weekend, BookTV will air coverage from the “Roth@80” conference that was held last month to honor Philip Roth.
  • Shabbat shalom.

    From My Bookshelf: Three Reading Recommendations

    I’ve been reading some wonderful new books lately. Although I may not have the opportunity to write full reviews of all of them, I wanted to make sure I brought at least three of this spring’s releases to your attention. All three can described as “Jewish books”–and they’re all books of fiction–but I think that they also demonstrate what I’m always trying to point out: “Jewish literature” is, in fact, remarkably diverse.

    Tsabari
    First up: Ayelet Tsabari’s The Best Place on Earth. Tsabari is an Israeli-born writer of Yemeni descent who currently lives in Canada. Her new book of short stories hasn’t yet been published in the United States, but once I became familiar with her work, I simply had to splurge and order my copy via Amazon.ca. I’m so glad that I did. These finely crafted stories feature the voices and experiences of Mizrahi Jews–Jews from the Middle East/North Africa–a group that I haven’t often seen depicted in fiction (at least, not in English-language or translated fiction).

    Sinners and the Sea
    Next: Minnesota-based Rebecca Kanner‘s Sinners and the Sea. If you liked the way that Anita Diamant brought the biblical Jacob’s daughter Dinah to life in The Red Tent, you’ll surely admire Kanner’s novel as well. Sinners and the Sea depicts the story of Noah and the famous Ark from the perspective of Noah’s wife (who doesn’t even get a name in the Bible). Creative and compelling. I consider myself lucky to have been offered a review copy.

    gerber
    Finally: Merrill Joan Gerber’s The Hysterectomy Waltz, which traces–with sly wit and humor–the diagnosis, surgery, and recovery of a Brooklyn-born Jewish woman. I requested a review copy from the publisher, Dzanc Books, after reading an excerpt online in The Literarian. I suggest that you read the excerpt, too, and if it appeals, be sure to put the novel on your list (it will be out in May). Although Gerber’s work is new to me, she has published many books (now available in digital formats through Dzanc’s rEprint series), and is a past recipient of Hadassah‘s prestigious Ribalow Prize for outstanding Jewish-themed fiction.

    What have you read lately that you’d recommend?

    Jewish Literary Links for Shabbat

    Photo Credit: Reut Miryam Cohen

    Every Friday morning My Machberet presents an assortment of links, primarily of the literary variety.

  • Mazel tov to the inaugural class of the Posen Society of Fellows.
  • More background on The Tower, the new publication I mentioned here recently.
  • Dispatch from the Twin Cities: “Jewish Arts Lab, or Why I’m a Jewish Artist.”
  • Win a book bundle from the Jewish Book Council (U.S. entrants only, enter by 4:00 p.m. EST, April 10).
  • Perhaps my most exciting #JLit discovery of the week: the redesigned website of the Institute for the Translation of Hebrew Literature!
  • Shabbat shalom!