The Whole Megillah- #52snapshots–Week 24Even if these essays about my immigrant forebears don’t receive publication, I know I’ve been able to somewhat piece together the fragments of their lives into a sort of biography. During a bout of insomnia the other night, I thought … Continue reading →Barbara Krasner
- Mid-Week Field Notes | June 9, 2021Some quick things: I completed revisions on my Ethel Rosenberg bio in verse. I hope my editor agrees that I completed them! I gave a presentation on Yizkor books (Holocaust memorial books) to my graduate “Reading Yiddish for Holocaust Research” … Continue reading →Barbara Krasner
- #52snapshots–Week 23Inspired by Toni Morrison’s “Sites of Memory” chapter in William Zinsser’s edited volume, Inventing the Truth: The Art and Craft of Memoir, I began to think about my trip to my grandfather’s shtetl in 2008, recalling my thoughts about the … Continue reading →Barbara Krasner
- Mid-Week Field Notes | June 2, 2021Some quick things: Still sloughing away at revisions on my Ethel Rosenberg bio in verse. This week I’m back at translating from Yiddish a 1947 journal article about the destruction of eastern Galician Jewry. I should have it completed by … Continue reading →Barbara Krasner
- #52snapshots–Week 22Years ago when I first embarked on my family history journey, I spent a lot of time at the local Mormon stake, ordering and reviewing scores of microfilms. One of the volunteers there said with absolute conviction, “Our ancestors want … Continue reading →Barbara Krasner
- Mid-Week Field Notes | May 26, 2021Some quick things: I await yet more comments from my editor on my Ethel Rosenberg bio in verse. I know what I’ll be doing over Memorial Day weekend! Today I’m giving my two-minute pitch at the Jewish Book Council’s Author … Continue reading →Barbara Krasner
- #52snapshots–Weeks 20 & 21I’ve been writing about my maternal great-grandmother Esther Toby Drewno Entel through a “braided essay” class given by Marian Calabro at the Montclair (NJ) adult school. At our last session last week, I began to write about changes in headstone … Continue reading →Barbara Krasner
- Mid-Week Field Notes | May 19, 2021Three quick things this week: My contemporary YA novel in verse has finally been sent out into the world. It lingered with my agent for months. It’s been called “gritty.” Working hard on a new short story for my Displaced … Continue reading →Barbara Krasner
- Mid-Week Field Notes | May 12, 2021Four quick things this week: I have joined a Holocaust writing group. Other members are children of survivors. We meet on an ad hoc basis to share our writing and to generate new writing. I am no longer a literary … Continue reading →Barbara Krasner
- #52snapshots–Week 19I continued to write about Esther Toby Drewno Entel and deepening my understanding of her life, including her father dying when she was in her teens and a younger brother dying in early 1914. I wonder whether her brother’s death … Continue reading →Barbara Krasner
- #52snapshots–Week 24
Category Archives: Two-in-One
Two-in-One: The Eight Knights of Hanukkah, written by Leslie Kimmelman, illustrated by Galia–Now a 2021 Sydney Taylor Notable Book!
Kimmelman, Leslie. The Eight Knights of Hanukkah. Illus. Galia Bernstein. Holiday House, September 2020, 48 pp., $17.99 The Whole Megillah welcomes writer Leslie Kimmelman and illustrator Galia Bernstein to the forum. We asked them a few questions about their book, … Continue reading
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Tagged Galia Bernstein, Leslie Kimmelman, The Eight Knights of Hanukkah
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Two-in-One Author’s Notebook | Essie’s Revelation Summer by Deanie Yasner with Publisher Nancy Sayre
Yasner, 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
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Tagged deanie yasner, Essie Rose's Revelation Summer, Golden Alley Press, Nancy Sayre
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Two-in-One Author’s Notebook | In the Jerusalem Forest by Devora Busheri and illustrated by Noa Kelner
In the Jerusalem Forest by Devora Busheri and illustrated by Noa Kelner, 32 pp., Kar-Ben Publishing, 2019. Israel-based Devora and I met as inaugural fellows at the 2017 Jewish Children’s Literature Tent at the Yiddish Book Center, Amherst, MA. The … Continue reading
Posted in Two-in-One
Tagged Devora Busheri, Hayyim Bialik, In the Jerusalem Forest. Noa Kelner, Joni Sussman, Kar-Ben, the pond
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Two-in-One Notebook | Author L.B. Schulman and Senior Editor Mary Colgan, Stolen Secrets
Schulman, L. B. Stolen Secrets. Boyds Mills Press, 2017, 304 pp. The Whole Megillah (TWM): How did you come up with the idea for this book? L.B. Schulman (LS): After listening to an interview on the radio, I realized that before … Continue reading
Posted in Two-in-One, Uncategorized
Tagged anne frank, Boyds Mills Press, l.b. schulman, lisa schulman, mary colgan, stolen secrets
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Two-in-One Authors’ Notebook | Oedipus in Brooklyn & Other Stories by Blume Lempel, translated by Ellen Cassedy and Yermiyahu Ahron Taub
Oedipus in Brooklyn and Other Stories by Blume Lempel, translated by Ellen Cassedy and Yermiyahu Ahron Taub. Mandel Vilar Press and Dryad Press, November 15, 2016. The Whole Megillah (TWM): How did this project come about? Ellen Cassedy (EC): Years ago, … Continue reading
Two-in-One Notebook: Novelist Ruchama Feuerman and Agent Anna Olswanger
The Whole Megillah (TWM): You write for children and adults. How do you balance your time and interest? Ruchama Feuerman (RF): I don’t. I’m all over the place. When I resonate with a project, I devour it and it devours … Continue reading
Two-in-One Notebook Special: Spinoza: the Outcast Thinker with Author Devra Lehmann and Editor Karen Klockner
The Whole Megillah (TWM): Why Spinoza? How did you come to this subject? Devra Lehmann (DL): Spinoza had hovered in my mind ever since high school, when my Jewish history teacher briefly mentioned Spinoza as a Jew tragically gone off the … Continue reading
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Tagged devra lehmann, karen klockner, namelos, spinoza the outcast thinker
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National Jewish Book Award Winner| The Patchwork Torah with Author Allison Ofanansky and Illustrator Elsa Oriol
Winner of the National Jewish Book Award Illustrated Children’s Book Category The Patchwork Torah is a global collaboration between U.S.-based publisher, Kar-Ben, author Allison Ofanansky in Israel and illustrator Elsa Oriol in France. The Whole Megillah (TWM): Allison, what inspired you … Continue reading
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Tagged 2014 national jewish book awards, allison ofanansky, elsa oriol, Kar-Ben, the patchwork torah
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Two-in-One Author’s Notebook | Hidden Like Anne Frank
Welcome to 2015! I’m back after a bout of cancer and am starting the New Year off with an interview with Hidden Like Anne Frank co-author Marcel Prins and translator Laura Watkinson. The book includes 14 oral history narratives of Jews hidden … Continue reading
Two-in-One Notebook Special | The Whispering Town
Today The Whole Megillah speaks with The Whispering Town (Kar-Ben, 2014) author Jennifer Elvgren and illustrator Fabio Santomauro. The Whole Megillah (TWM): What inspired you to write this book? Jennifer Elvgren (JE): I have always been drawn to Holocaust literature. As … Continue reading
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Tagged fabio santomauro, jennifer elvgren, Kar-Ben, the whispering town
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