Jewish Literary Links for Shabbat

Photo Credit: Reut Miryam Cohen

Once again, there’s so much to share this week. Let’s get started.

  • You may recall how much I admired HHhH, the Laurent Binet novel translated by Sam Taylor. Now, I’m thinking that I should try to pick up a copy of the original French edition. Plus: In The New Yorker, James Wood weighs in with a review that’s definitely worth reading (and thinking about).
  • Mazel tov to Israel on the recent honor it received at the International Book Fair of Buenos Aires.
  • “The Philip Roth Society proudly announces a call for papers for Roth@80, a conference event organized, in conjunction with the Newark Preservation & Landmarks Committee, to mark the 80th birthday of Philip Roth. It will take place on March 18-19, 2013, at the Robert Treat Hotel in Newark, NJ.” Proposal deadline is September 1, 2012.
  • On The Whole Megillah, Nancy K. Miller answers questions on the writing process behind her award-winning family memoir, What They Saved: Pieces of a Jewish Past.
  • This week brought us the May Jewish Book Carnival. Thanks to the Jewish Book Council’s blog (The ProsenPeople) for hosting.
  • Sixth & I, “a historic synagogue and center for arts, entertainment, and cultural experiences in downtown DC,” is looking for a Cultural Programming Associate. And the Boston-based Jewish Women’s Archive (JWA) is advertising a paid internship in communications & social media.
  • Shabbat shalom.

    Jewish Literary Links for Shabbat

    Photo Credit: Reut Miryam Cohen

    It’s time for the weekly batch of Internet finds of Jewish literary interest.

  • Let’s begin here: Did you know that Cynthia Ozick has written a novel set in a Jewish day school?
  • On the Jewish flavor of the works of Maurice Sendak.
  • Summer internship opportunity (albeit unpaid) with the Jewish Book Council.
  • And a job announcement from the Forward, which is looking for an Arts & Culture Editor.
  • Finally, a personal note: This week marked the 30th anniversary of my becoming a Bat Mitzvah. The secular and Hebrew calendars seem to be aligned, because this week’s Torah portion, Parashat Emor, was mine. Last year, New Vilna Review published Emor,” a poem inspired by my attendance at a more recent May Bat Mitzvah ceremony.
  • Shabbat shalom.

    Jewish Literary Links for Shabbat

    Photo Credit: Reut Miryam Cohen
  • Caught up a few days ago with a terrific new story by Joan Leegant, “Displaced Persons,” that is set in Israel.
  • And speaking of stories, a new issue of JewishFiction.net is now available.
  • Editors and agents may now apply for the Jerusalem International Book Fair Fellowship.
  • MyJewishLearning.com is looking for a full-time Editorial Assistant.
  • Further piquing my considerable interest: Janet Maslin’s review of Jonathan Sarna’s When General Grant Expelled the Jews.
  • New Jersey Jewish News spotlights the Jewish Plays Project.
  • And a couple of literary notes of my own: my review of Nathan Englander’s new story collection and a bit about my latest poem, “Jerusalem Dream.”
  • Shabbat Shalom and Chag Pesach Sameach!

    Jewish Literary Links for Shabbat

    Photo Credit: Reut Miryam Cohen
  • Did you miss the Jewish Book Council’s Twitter Book Club chat with Anna Solomon this week? You can read the transcript here. Next up for the club: Nathan Englander (March 27) and Natasha Solomons (April 26).
  • On “Good Letters,” the Image journal blog, poet Rick Chess reflects on listening, psalms, and Night.
  • The latest issue of Hadassah magazine features a profile of author Cynthia Ozick.
  • If you’re in the Bay Area this weekend, you have the opportunity to attend a pretty spectacular-looking BookFest at the JCC of San Francisco. Take a peek at Sunday’s schedule.
  • Some controversy is swirling around Deborah Feldman’s Unorthodox.
  • Washington Jewish Week (based in Rockville, Md.) is looking for a Senior Writer.
  • Shabbat shalom!

    Jewish Literary Links for Shabbat

    Photo Credit: Reut Miryam Cohen
  • The New York Times divulges author Nathan Englander’s Sunday routine.
  • Speaking of Nathan Englander, not everyone will agree with Adam Kirsch’s take on his latest work, but you can’t deny that Kirsch’s conclusion is tantalizing and provocative: “Perhaps the great Jewish fiction of the near future will have to be less psychological and social than is currently the norm, and more explicitly political. And perhaps the great dividing line in contemporary Jewish life is not the one between religious and secular Jews, but between those who see themselves as members of a historical Jewish nation, and those who find such an identity archaic or delusional.”
  • JTA, “the global news service of the Jewish people,” is hiring.
  • New graduate program in Jewish cultural arts.
  • Deborah Feldman’s new memoir, Unorthodox, is making waves. Read all about it.
  • Shabbat shalom!