The Whole Megillah- Mid-Week Field Notes | July 28, 2021Some quick things: One of my #52snapshots, “An American Constellation,” about my paternal grandmother and her three sons in the American armed forces during World War II, will appear next week in the Jewish Literary Journal. I will send out … Continue reading →Barbara Krasner
- #52snapshots–Week 30True to my word, I did write about Morduch Krasner, my great-grandfather. It was an interesting journey through his documentation. There’s a family through Ancestry.com that insists is related to him through a sister, but I have no DNA connection … Continue reading →Barbara Krasner
- Mid-Week Field Notes | July 21, 2021Some quick things: I received a “form” rejection for one of my essays (not one of the #52snapshots) this week. Bummer. I began work on the new project, specifically some opening poems and the overview for the proposal. Got some … Continue reading →Barbara Krasner
- #52snapshots–Week 29Last week I said I would write about Chaim Joseph Entel, my mother’s maternal grandfather, and so I did. What I wrote was clearly speculative and I’m enjoying imagining the personalities of my ancestors. I’d share a photo of him, … Continue reading →Barbara Krasner
- Mid-Week Field Notes | July 14, 2021Some quick things: My Holocaust kidlit database is nearly complete–about 700 books published since 1952. If any of you are educators and teach the Holocaust in your classroom, I’d like to know which books you use and how book selections … Continue reading →Barbara Krasner
- Author’s Notebook | Eva and Eve by Julie MetzMetz, Julie. Eva and Eve: A Search for My Mother’s Lost Childhood and What a War Left Behind. Atria/Simon & Schuster, 2021, 314 pp. The Whole Megillah (TWM): What inspired you to write this memoir?Julie Metz (JM): Shortly after my … Continue reading →Barbara Krasner
- #52snapshots–Week 28I’m getting increasingly into “speculative memoir,” that is, at least in my case, writing about ancestors I never knew. I’m not much for writing about myself in memoir format, but a pop-up session last week by Emily Stoddard at Voice … Continue reading →Barbara Krasner
- Mid-Week Field Notes | July 7, 2021Some quick things: I am updating my Holocaustkidlit database. Good news: It should be done by the end of the week. Bad news: The version on holocaustkidlit.com refused to download. I had a lot of re-work to do. Next steps: … Continue reading →Barbara Krasner
- #52snapshots–Week 27Good news! The first of #52snapshots, the one called “Black Taffeta” about my father’s paternal grandmother and my namesake, Bryna Krasner, has been accepted for Fall 2021 publication by The Kelsey Review. This is the only journal I submitted it … Continue reading →Barbara Krasner
- Mid-Week Field Notes | June 30, 2021Some quick things: I Had dinner with my fabulous editor and we’ve come up with a new idea for my next project. It will take a bit of research, but it’s about a topic I’ve actually been interested in for … Continue reading →Barbara Krasner
- Mid-Week Field Notes | July 28, 2021
Category Archives: Report from Prague
Report from Prague | Finding Franz Kafka
It’s difficult to separate Franz Kafka from Prague and Prague from Franz Kafka. I’ll admit I haven’t really read his work since college when I argued with a college professor about the type of insect into which Gregor Samsa metamorphosed. … Continue reading
Posted in Report from Prague
Tagged Franz Kafka, Prague, Prague photos, Prague Summer Program
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Report from Prague | New Jewish Cemetery
Although I’m back in the States, I’d still like to share some of my Judaic experiences in the Czech Republic. On the Tuesday and Wednesday of my last week in Prague, I took the Metro Line A to the Želivského … Continue reading
Report from Prague | Apology
Dear The Whole Megillah readers, I lost my Internet connection in Prague and was unable to continue blogging while there. But, I’m home now and have so much to share! Stay tuned to posts about Prague’s New Jewish Cemetery, Terezin, … Continue reading
Posted in Report from Prague
Tagged Jewish Prague, Prague Summer Program, Western Michigan University
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Report from Prague | Old Jewish Cemetery, Part 2
Symbols in the Old Jewish Cemetery of Prague Dating from the late 16th century, tombstones in Prague’s Old Jewish Cemetery bear a variety of symbols. Some of these, such as the hands of the Kohanes or the pitcher of the … Continue reading
Report from Prague | Old Jewish Cemetery, Part 1
The Old Jewish cemetery of Prague is a daunting site. About 12,000 graves in eleven layers hold the remains of Europe’s oldest existing Jewish community. The oldest grave — Avigdor Kara The oldest grave in this cemetery that abuts the … Continue reading
Posted in Report from Prague
Tagged Hendl Bassevi, MaHaRaL, Old Jewish Cemetery Prague, Prague Jewish cemetery, Rabbi Lev, Rabbi Loew
4 Comments
Report from Prague — The Jewish Museum
Today members of our Jewish Studies class, along with a bunch of others from our Prague Summer Program, were guided through the multi-stop Jewish Museum by Dr. Tomas Kraus, executive director of the Federation of Jewish Communities in the Czech … Continue reading
Report from Prague – Day One
Ahoj, Whole Megillah readers! As some of you know, I was named a finalist for a fiction fellowship at Western Michigan University’s Prague Summer Program. So, here I am in Prague, where I’ll be taking courses in fiction and Jewish … Continue reading
Posted in Report from Prague
Tagged Eric Kimmel, Franz Kafka, Jewish Prague, Maisel synagogue, Shofar Books
7 Comments
