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A number of things to share today. Let& #39;s begin, as is habit, with the latest writerly finds on the Practicing Writing blog—including a free online #memoir summit, #bookpromo advice, and an intro to "On the Seawall," @ronslate& #39;s revamped literary site. https://wp.me/p4x0h8-bYD ">https://wp.me/p4x0h8-bY...
Where else can you eavesdrop on @stuffism& #39;s convo with @shteyngart, tell the @JewishBook Council all about your favorite Jewish #bookstore, AND discover a FREE retreat (they& #39;re even giving out travel stipends!) for those who write #Jewish #kidlit? https://wp.me/p4x0h8-bYC ">https://wp.me/p4x0h8-bY...
Some #FridayReads/ #WeekendReads. Special congrats to my pal @Karen_E_Bender on the release of her latest book (and many thanks for the gift copy!).
I& #39;ll return w/more to say about this later, but for now: here& #39;s something else—a #shortstory that& #39;s in my collection—that connects w/both #VeteransDay & the 80th anniversary of the #Kristallnacht. (Thanks to @IlanotReview for the opportunity to share it.) http://www.ilanotreview.com/translation-and-transformation/lebensraum/">https://www.ilanotreview.com/translati...
That should have been @Ilanot_Review. Apologies.
Okay. Here we go w/some more about the "Lebensraum" story that& #39;s in my collection (& linked above).
The story is based on the real-life history of my paternal grandparents, who were young adults when they left Germany in the late 1930s. (They met and married here in the US.) +
The story is based on the real-life history of my paternal grandparents, who were young adults when they left Germany in the late 1930s. (They met and married here in the US.) +
The story& #39;s #VeteransDay connection pretty obvious. But let me tell you a bit more about the way that the #Kristallnacht is woven in. +
First, though: a reminder about what is being commemorated this #Kristallnacht80 weekend. (This is from a page from THE HOLOCAUST ENCYCLOPEDIA by #WalterLaqueur, who died on September 30 of this year.) +
My grandparents hadn& #39;t yet met, though, when the #Kristallnacht happened. My grandmother had been in this country for six months; her parents were still back in Germany. +
In my fiction, I& #39;ve combined elements of the family history. In "Lebensraum," for instance, there& #39;s a reference to Nelly& #39;s father, who "died of Dachau" in the aftermath of the Kristallnacht. In truth, it was my grandmother& #39;s favorite uncle who was killed there at that time. +
My grandmother& #39;s uncle& #39;s name was Michael. Here he is in two photos—one on his wedding day, and the other (also with his wife) in 1921, when my grandmother was a young child. +
To return to the "Lebensraum" story: In that story, a baby boy is born in circumstances quite similar to those that surrounded my father& #39;s birth. Including a disagreement between the parents about the baby& #39;s name. +
My grandmother told me often about how she& #39;d wished to name my dad after Uncle Michael. But that didn& #39;t happen. +
So when, on what turned out to be her final Hanukkah, I sent her an early version of that story—which I& #39;d drafted during the first semester of my MFA program—she had two main responses. +
"You& #39;ve been listening to me!" she told me.
And then, "And you named the baby for Uncle Michael!"
She was so happy. I feel as though that story was the best gift I ever gave her.
And that& #39;s what I wanted to share with all of you today. Thanks for reading.
And then, "And you named the baby for Uncle Michael!"
She was so happy. I feel as though that story was the best gift I ever gave her.
And that& #39;s what I wanted to share with all of you today. Thanks for reading.
Well, it& #39;s been a busy day, with a lot to think about/remember. Now, it& #39;s time to go offline. #ShabbatShalom
