Jewish Literary Links for Shabbat

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

  • From London: new audio recordings from the 2013 Jewish Book Week festival. Listen to sessions that featured Shani Boianjiu, Edith Pearlman, Francesca Segal and Jami Attenberg, Laurent Binet, and many others.
  • Also from Britain: B.J. Epstein acquaints us with Into the Light: The Medieval Hebrew Poetry of Meir of Norwich for Wales Arts Review.
  • Back in the U.S.A., The Forward brings together authors Joanna Hershon and Adelle Waldman and asks them, among other questions, “What are your thoughts about being a Jewish writer?”
  • Lots of Jewish-lit info in the August Jewish Book Carnival, hosted by Leora Wenger.
  • On the Jewesses with Attitude blog, Miriam Cantor-Stone writes a letter to the late playwright Wendy Wasserstein.
  • Shabbat shalom, everyone.

    Jewish Literary Links for Shabbat

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

  • Oh, what a find! Israeli authors reading from their books (with English captions/subtitles provided).
  • “But I’ll just say it unequivocally and then back off if need be: the most timeless, lasting novellas of the second half of the 20th century were written by Jewish novella-writers.” That’s Daniel Torday’s argument for The ProsenPeople. Read the post to see if Torday convinces you.
  • Fascinating piece by Kevin Haworth on the Michigan Quarterly Review website: “What Do People Do All Day? Palestinian Version.”
  • Bar-Ilan University in Israel is launching an M.A. program in English literature with a focus on literary translation. Curriculum includes literature, creative writing, Jewish studies, and translation.
  • “David Ehrlich is best known as the founder of Tmol Shilshom, a bookstore café in the heart of Jerusalem that has long been a popular gathering place for writers and artists. It’s named after the novel by S. Y. Agnon and has hosted readings by the leading lights of Israeli literature, from Yehuda Amichai to David Grossman, as well as renowned writers from abroad. Ehrlich is himself a writer, primarily of essays and short stories. Now Syracuse University Press has published Who Will Die Last: Stories of Life in Israel, the first collection of his stories to be translated into English.” Listen to one of those stories in this Vox Tablet podcast.
  • Shabbat shalom.

    From My Archives: Defining “Jewish Writing”

    StarSome of my (ever-evolving) ruminations on how to define what makes a book “Jewish” stem from my own writing, especially my short-story collection, Quiet Americans, which is inspired largely by the experiences of my paternal grandparents, German Jews who immigrated to the United States in the late 1930s. But I’ve also considered the subject more broadly (for some examples, please see “further reading” links at the end of this post).

    Helping me shape my thoughts along the way: a website I discovered thanks to one of the innumerable “Jewish newsletters” I subscribe to. At The 5 Legged Table, educator Avraham Infeld’s teachings frame a discussion of the question: What is being Jewish all about? The underlying principles impress me as applicable to a related question: What is a Jewish book all about?

    Briefly, the 5 Legged Table comprises the following elements: (more…)

    Jewish Literary Links for Shabbat

    Photo Credit: Reut Miryam Cohen

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

  • Over on The Whole Megillah, Barbara Krasner hosts the July Jewish Book Carnival.
  • Congregational librarian Ellen Tilman reports back from the Association of Jewish Libraries (AJL) annual conference.
  • Rebecca Klempner wants to discuss which books are really “the best books for Jewish kids.”
  • A timely reminder of the ship known as the Exodus–and the Leon Uris novel of the same title.
  • A part-time job is available with the Westchester (N.Y.) Jewish Film Festival.
  • Shabbat shalom.

    Jewish Literary Links

    Okay, they’re a couple of days early–usually, I post these links on Friday morning, pre-Shabbat. But I’m traveling this week, so I thought I’d get these out to you ahead of time. Shabbat shalom in advance!

  • Check out these calls for artists/writers from Jewish Currents.
  • The Israel Institute is offering research grants of up to $10,000 for scholars, academics, and independent researchers to conduct substantive research on issues related to modern Israel. Areas for research may include, but are not limited to, Israeli history, politics, economics, and law. The grants are aimed at facilitating the publication of a book or a number of scholarly articles that make a serious contribution to the field of Israel Studies or promotes a greater understanding of modern Israel.” Next deadline is August 1.
  • Over on Tablet, discover a new group of “baal teshuvahs—a small but influential movement of incoming Chabad artists who are reinventing the arts in the Hasidic community.”
  • Last weekend, I saw the beautiful new Israeli film, “Fill the Void,” which is being described as “Jane Austen for Jews.”
  • Also last weekend, I read Miriam Katin’s new graphic memoir, Letting It Go, the primary focus of which is, as noted in Tahneer Oksman’s review for the Jewish Book Council, “Miriam’s inability to accept her adult son’s decision to move to Berlin, a city that represents her dark past.” It is a stirring and visually beautiful book. Recommended.