Jewish Literary Links for Shabbat
Shabbat shalom!
Posts Tagged‘Yiddish literature’
Step Right Up to the Jewish Book Carnival
My Machberet is proud to serve as January 2012 host for the Jewish Book Carnival, “a monthly event where bloggers who blog about Jewish books can meet, read, and comment on each others’ posts. The posts are hosted on one of the participant’s sites on the 15th of each month.”
Herewith, this month’s goodies: (more…)
The Snowy Day and the Art of Ezra Jack Keats
If you’ll be in New York before January 29, you must stop by the Jewish Museum and take a walk through a wonderful exhibition, “The Snowy Day and the Art of Ezra Jack Keats.”
When I first heard about this exhibition a few months ago, the very title evoked a pleasing memory. I visualized Peter, the child protagonist of The Snowy Day, as he appeared on the pages of the book before me in my kindergarten classroom in Brooklyn oh-so-many years ago. I remembered the book’s sheer beauty, its vivid colors and the magical way—still astonishing to me as a young reader, still astonishing now—that it captured the very same sense of wonder that I, too, experienced on snowy days.
Visiting the exhibition this past weekend, I recaptured some of that wonder.
But I have learned so much more about Keats’s life and work. For starters, the exhibition reveals that Keats was the son of impoverished Eastern European Jewish immigrants. He was born in Brooklyn—as Jacob Ezra Katz.
This weekend, I was awed anew by his (largely self-cultivated) artistic talent. Moreover, thanks to an exhibit-within-the-exhibit (“From Sambo to Stevie: African-Americans in Picture Books”), I learned a lot that I hadn’t fully appreciated about Keats’s contribution to the history of multicultural children’s literature (and about that subject more broadly).
Again, I urge you to spend some time at the Jewish Museum exploring the exhibition for yourself. But if that isn’t possible, you can get a substantial glimpse into this remarkable cultural offering online. However, here’s one item that I don’t believe you’ll find online: this sweet and friendly letter from Isaac Bashevis Singer to Ezra Jack Keats. (Please accept my apologies for the quality of my iPhone photo. I’ll confess that I was a bit verklempt in the moment, too!)
P.S. If I haven’t sufficiently swayed you, please read this take on the exhibition from The New York Times. That should do it!
Jewish Literary Links for Shabbat
- The schedule of events for London’s Jewish Book Week (in February 2012) is live.
- Here in the U.S.A., the Jewish Book Council spotlights a few highly anticipated forthcoming titles.
- If you’re looking for a couple more Hanukkah gift ideas for kids, check out these reviews from “Ima On and Off the Bima.”
- Andrew Silow-Carroll, editor of New Jersey Jewish News, thought he’d write a novel. He learned a few things in the process.
- Interesting Holocaust Memorial Day opportunity for a freelance creative-writing facilitator in the U.K.
- The Boston Bibliophile shares her Jewish Book Month recommendations. (I share her enthusiasm for several of the titles she spotlights.)
- Lovely online slideshow providing glimpses into the exhibition, “Isaac Bashevis Singer and His Artists.”
Shabbat shalom!
Attention, High Schoolers (and Parents Thereof)
It’s not every day (or, frankly, any day) that I wish I could be a high-schooler again. This new program is perhaps the only thing that could entice me to go back in time if I had the opportunity to do so.
Great Jewish Books brings together eighteen rising high school juniors and seniors to read, discuss, argue about, and fall in love with some of the most powerful and enduring works of modern Jewish literature.
During a week-long residency at the Yiddish Book Center on the campus of Hampshire College, participants will study with some of the nation’s most respected literary scholars, meet prominent contemporary authors, and connect with other teens from across the country. The 2012 program runs from Sunday, July 29 through Sunday, August 5.
High school students entering their junior or senior year in fall 2012 are eligible to apply.
Apply now!
Tuition, room, meals, and books will be provided for accepted students through a generous grant from Michael Steinhardt.
Application deadline is March 15, 2012. There is no application fee.
Jewish Literary Links for Shabbat
Shabbat shalom!