The Whole Megillah- Mid-Week Field Notes–May 25, 2022Some very quick things: Final Stretch! Comments on my dissertation have now come in on from all three readers. A diverse set of comments. I hope to get the next iteration of the dissertation out very soon. The title is … Continue reading →Barbara Krasner
- #52snapshots 2022 | Week 20 — What You SawThis week’s snapshot prompt asks us to write about what we saw that we cannot unsee. I wrote about the time when my son was six, already diagnosed with ADHD, and we attended a Cub Scout picnic in the nearby … Continue reading →Barbara Krasner
- Mid-Week Field Notes–May 18, 2022Some very quick things: I’m thinking about what I want to write in the future. Should I continue to write kidlit or go strictly adult literary? Do I continue to write novels in verse or maybe try a graphic novel? … Continue reading →Barbara Krasner
- #52snapshots 2022 | Week 19, What You Hang OntoWeek 19 asks about what we hung onto in our past and what we hang onto now. An immediate image emerged in my mind’s eye: a teddy bear pin with googly eyes that a neighbor gave me for my fifth … Continue reading →Barbara Krasner
- Mid-Week Field Notes–May 11, 2022Some very quick things: May is Jewish American Heritage Month. Many museums and other institutions are offering in-person and virtual events. I wrote about my maternal grandparents’ ketubah over the weekend. Many years ago, when I began my genealogical pursuit, … Continue reading →Barbara Krasner
- #52snapshots 2022 | Week 18, What Future Did You Imagine for Yourself?The prompt for Week 18 involves writing about what you really loved with two options. Option 1: Think about the objects and information you amassed as a child and make a list of your obsessions, interests, and hobbies. Write about … Continue reading →Barbara Krasner
- Mid-Week Field Notes–May 4, 2022Some very quick things: There’s still room in my May 26 Writing the Past session! Amherst Writers & Artists dedicates the month of May to its Write Around the World fundraiser. For as little as a $10 donation, writers can … Continue reading →Barbara Krasner
- #52snapshots 2022 | Week 17, We’re All Survivors of SomethingThis week requires making a list of what we’ve survived and to write about one of them. I couldn’t really get beyond what I’ve survived. My list ranges from the physical–scarlet fever, bacterial meningitis, cancer, and badly-behaving parathyroid glands and … Continue reading →Barbara Krasner
- Mid-Week Field Notes–April 27, 2022Some very quick things: More evidence arrived in the last week cementing my need to engage in revising my poetry. I’m devoting time in May to that. But good news! Amherst Writers & Artists literary magazine, Peregrine, accepted a short … Continue reading →Barbara Krasner
- Living Links | Grandchildren of Holocaust Survivors Share Family TestimonyThere’s still time to register for the Yom Hashoah webinar featuring two third-generation Holocaust survivors–Avi Wisnia and Leon Geyer–whose lives and missions have been shaped by their grandparents. To register, click here.Barbara Krasner
- Mid-Week Field Notes–May 25, 2022
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
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
The Whole Megillah 