Many of you have known or worked with editor Deborah Brodie. She passed away on June 27 after a battle with cancer.
Read the Publisher’s Weekly obituary>>>
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The Whole Megillah- Literary Offerings into the World | June 2017 ReportPretty much a month of rejections… Poetry: 0 submissions, 0 acceptances, 1 rejection (Foundry). Fiction: 0 submissions, 0 acceptances, 0 rejections. Creative Nonfiction: 1 submission (Passager), 1 acceptance (Jewish Literary Journal), 7 rejections (Lascaux Review, J Journal, Front Porch, Agni, Malahat Review, … Continue reading →Barbara Krasner
- Now Available! Chicken Fat, a New Poetry Chapbook by Barbara KrasnerNote from Barbara: I really hope you’ll check out my book. The poems are personal. The people on the cover? My grandmother, Rose Entel Perlman, an immigrant from Poland, my mother, Lillian Perlman Krasner, and I think that’s my twin … Continue reading →Barbara Krasner
- Holocaustkidlit.com Goes Live | Online Searchable Database of Children’s Holocaust LiteratureYesterday at Hebrew Union College in New York City at the annual conference of the Association of Jewish Libraries, I announced and demonstrated the debut of Holocaustkidlit.com, a new website featuring an online searchable database of children’s Holocaust literature published … Continue reading →Barbara Krasner
- Literary Offerings into the World | May 2017 ReportThe spring semester is now over and I can return to writing! Poetry: 2 submissions (Foundry and Cimarron Review), and 3 rejections to report (Ilanot Review, Green Mountains Review, Manhattanville Review). Fiction: Continuing work on my Prague story. Rejection of a flash fiction … Continue reading →Barbara Krasner
- Commemorating the Tragedy of the MS St. Louis, 1939Tablet Magazine recently reported that Jewish communities throughout the United States plan to hold vigils to commemorate the MS St. Louis today, June 6. On this day in 1939, the luxury liner’s captain, Gustav Schroeder, received orders from his superiors … Continue reading →Barbara Krasner
- Jewish Traveler’s Notebook | Gomez Mill House, Marlboro, NYThis post debuts a new series and ad hoc feature, the Jewish Traveler’s Notebook. From time to time, I’ll share my experiences at museums and other spots of Jewish interest. Since reading Deborah Prinz’s On the Chocolate Trail (Jewish Lights, … Continue reading →Barbara Krasner
- Author’s Notebook | The Borscht Belt: Revisiting the Remains of America’s Jewish Vacationland by Marisa ScheinfeldI came across mention of The Borscht Belt: Revisiting the Remains of America’s Jewish Vacationland (Cornell University Press, 2017) on the website of the American Historical Association. Since my family spent numerous summers at hotels there that included the Granit, … Continue reading →Barbara Krasner
- Author’s Notebook | Choices by J.E. LauferLast year, I spent several months interviewing refugees from the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 on behalf of the American Hungarian Foundation. When I received news of J.E. Laufer’s account of her Jewish family’s escape, I was immediately intrigued. Following is … Continue reading →Barbara Krasner
- 2017 Year of the Book | First Quarter Progress ReportI pledged 2017 as the Year of the Book. my year to sell a book manuscript. Now that the first quarter of the year has closed, here is my progress report: Poetry: I entered my chapbook manuscript, Chicken Fat, into … Continue reading →Barbara Krasner
- Literary Offerings into the World | April 2017 ReportDuring the academic semester, there’s a trend: I don’t write or send out that much material. I hope to remedy that after mid-May. Note: Since Poetry Has Value no longer offers the fabulous guest posts I looked forward to reading … Continue reading →Barbara Krasner
- Literary Offerings into the World | June 2017 Report
I cannot express how kind Deborah was to me. She reached out and expected nothing in return. She sent me writing exercises, asked me what I really wanted to do in my work (she was sure I could write a novel, and was determined to help me figure out what it was)…she was just so all-around encouraging and supportive and funny. At shiva people laughed about her sharp tongue, but I only got it once — when I accidentally called her Deb.
Hamakom Yinachem.
Deborah was the first professional editor to pull me out of a slush pile and declare I had a voice, and from that day on, became a person I could count on for a clean response, with honest encouragement. Her course at the New School, which I took early in my career, relieved us all of our self-consciousness. In her classroom, contrary to her editorial reputation, we all could fall flat on our faces, and pierce the boundaries which had held us back.
What a loss to the children’s book world, especially at a time when a voice for quality and authenticy is so sorely needed. I didn’t know Deborah well but thought of her as a kindred soul. Baruch dayan ha emet.