The Whole Megillah- Mid-Week NotesThree quick things: The Jewish Book Council has just announced its 2019 winners. I agree with some choices, like Michael Dobbs’s Unwanted and, of course, Lesléa Newman’s Gittel’s Journey. But another book that won I thought lacked any authenticity. Sigh. … Continue reading →Barbara Krasner
- Two-in-One Author’s Notebook | Essie’s Revelation Summer by Deanie Yasner with Publisher Nancy SayreYasner, Deanie. Essie Rose’s Revelation Summer. Golden Alley Press, 2019, 241 pp. $8.99. The Whole Megillah (TWM): Essie Rose’s Revelation Summer captures so many historical (and emotional) details. How much of those came from your memory vs. research? How much … Continue reading →Barbara Krasner
- Mid-Week NotesThree quick things: I received two invitations to teach: One to teach undergrad Intro to Creative Writing and one to teach undergrad Literature of the Holocaust at two different universities. Problem: They were both for Tuesday/Thursday at 2 pm when … Continue reading →Barbara Krasner
- Writing ChaiWith today’s post, I am starting a new The Whole Megillah feature: Writing Chai. This ad hoc feature will focus on the writing life, craft books, courses, the struggles, the triumphs. I look forward to your participation! I am interested … Continue reading →Barbara Krasner
- Mid-Week NotesHappy New Year, everyone! Today is the first day of a new year and a new decade. Three quick things: Every December I assess my year-end accomplishments and set long- and short-term goals for the coming year(s). A tool I … Continue reading →Barbara Krasner
- Mid-Week NotesThree quick things: I just received my January/February issue of Poets & Writers, an issue focused on Inspiration. Just by thumbing through submission opportunities, I think I found it! In that same issue, I spotted the name of a former … Continue reading →Barbara Krasner
- Mid-Week NotesThree quick things: I attended a performance of “The Sorceress” (“Di Kishefmakherin”) in Yiddish at the Museum of Jewish Heritage/National Yiddish Theater Folksbiene in New York City. Great fun! The operetta’s run ends December 29. It was written in 1878. … Continue reading →Barbara Krasner
- Mid-Week NotesThree quick things: I am saddened and horrified by the circumstances and outcome of yesterday’s Jersey City shooting. I grew up in the same county. On a more positive note, I have now read two paragraphs of a Sholom Aleichem … Continue reading →Barbara Krasner
- Mid-Week NotesThree quick things: I’m happy to announce that a short story being published by the literary magazine of Mercer County Community College, The Kelsey Review, has been nominated for a Pushcart. The story is based on the man who sat … Continue reading →Barbara Krasner
- Mid-Week NotesThree quick things: Let poetry inspire your writing. See the interview with Devora Busheri about her use of Hayyim Bialik’s poetry in her new picture book, In the Jerusalem Forest (Kar-Ben, 2019). Are any of you participating in Nanowrimo? I … Continue reading →Barbara Krasner
- Mid-Week Notes
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
3 Comments
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
1 Comment
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
