Poetica Magazine

When I tell people that I founded Ruminate, an arts and literary magazine, I often get blank stares and hear: “Umm…what is a literary magazine?” I realize everyone here is fairly literary folks, but I still think this is a great question—one worth asking and answering. Especially because, in my experience, many writers don’t know enough about the publications they are submitting to or the rich world in which these magazines exist. And getting published has everything to do with researching and understanding the publications out there!

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So, I usually tell this friend how the six hundred or so currently publishing US literary magazines make up a non-commercialized market of small or “little” magazines that promote a variety work and genres from both established and emerging writers. Each magazine typically has a specific mission or niche, like an environmental focus or one that only publishes writers only from the west coast (check for this mission in the tagline under the magazine title, on the masthead page, or the “about us” page on their website). They also have a small circulation—usually between five hundred and ten thousand, are often a nonprofit organization run by volunteer staff and maintained by donations and grants or affiliated with a university. They typically pay only in a subscription or contributor copies, although some of the larger and/or university-funded magazines pay anywhere from $5 to $30 per printed page. And, reputable magazines do not charge a reading fee for general submissions. Most do, however, charge an entry/reading fee for contests.

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The next question I often hear is, “Well, why do they matter?” This was a question we asked ourselves when starting Ruminate, and I think it is also very valid. I usually share how literary magazines provide an important opportunity for new writers to begin and establish a career, how it is easier to find a publisher for a manuscript of short stories or poetry if some of the work has already been published in literary magazines, and how they are one of the few places where experimental/boundary-pushing work or “no-name” authors may find a home. No literary magazine makes a “profit”—therefore, they don’t have to answer to advertisers or commercial marketing and can truly serve and foster the literary arts. What a gift!

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And on a more practical level, many great writers began their careers by first publishing in literary magazines, and most in the publishing world would agree that this is still true today. It is a tried and true process and agents and publishers will want to see that you have published work in reputable literary magazines. Also, many anthologies (such as The Best American Short Stories or The Best American Poetry) select work every year from literary magazines around the country.

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Now the most eager of folks might even ask where they can find our more about these fascinating publications. In which case I’d get their email address and promise to send them a list of resources (see below). And I’d also tell them that they should join the conversation—pick one literary magazine…and subscribe! And help ensure that this rich world of voices and words continues to thrive.

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Online Literary Magazine Resources

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Duotrope - searchable by genre, word count, payscale, response times, rejection rate, etc. 

New Pages - literary magazine database, magazine reviews, and calls for submissions.  

Poets and Writers Online - Lit magazine database searchable by genre with info on reading periods and editorial guidelines. 

Winning Writers - Primarily geared toward poets.

Lit List - Literary magazines, contests, and online litmags, allows you to “follow” your favorite literary mags.

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Print Resources (available in the reference section of most libraries):

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CLMP Literary Press and Magazine Directory - Detailed submission guidelines for online and print literary magazines and profiles of top publishers and journal editors.

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International Directory of Little Magazines & Small Presses - Full editorial information on both book and magazine publishers; 4,000 markets for writers to sell their work.

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Thanks for Reading JWorld Café, the Poetica Magazine Blog

Brianna Van Dyke, Guest Blogger

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Brianna Van Dyke is the founder and editor-in-chief of Ruminate: Faith in Literature and Art. She recently completed her MA in English literature from Colorado State University where her thesis was on literary magazines. She has presented at numerous publishing and editing conferences and workshops across the country and last month spoke on a panel of small press and little magazine editors at the Calvin College Festival of Faith and Writing. She lives in Fort Collins, Colorado, with her husband, two kids, and two dogs. - Linda Pressman, Blog Editor

I was thrilled to pass calculus. Years of checking addition with subtraction, of scrutinizing multiplication through division, and of examining functions via the employment of inverse functions successfully guided me to a culmination of being able to verify integration by means of differentiation. Complimentary processes had brought me good outcomes in math.

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Analogously, reciprocal procedures brought me good outcomes in writing.

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Reading chapter books enabled me to write funky fables for my younger sister. Consuming poetry led me to structuring rudimentary verse for my third grade teacher. Perusing nonfiction caused me to create diatribes for the most cherished of my stuffed animals.

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As I passed in age from single to double digits, I read more and wrote more. Eventually, I learned enough to teach college-level literature, composition, communications, philosophy and sociology. My textual contributions became my research as presented at international conferences and my scholarly findings as provided in professional journals.

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Subsequently, my children introduced me to the palpable glop and the denizens of their pretend worlds. Whereas I made drafts of poems and essays and scribbled down a book or two, during those years I allowed and even encouraged my children’s insistence on attending to their ladybugs and gelatinous monsters to distract me from distributing my ideas.

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Later, when my husband and I returned to a religious way of life, moving first to a religious community and then to Israel, my teens wanted a translator, not a nature lover. The local universities wanted a Hebrew-speaking faculty member, not an adept Anglo. Rather than dwell on my role displacement, I wrote.

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First, I documented my acculturation process in The Jerusalem Post and shared spiritual poetry in Poetry Super Highway and The New Vilna Review. Shortly thereafter, I provided content for The Shiur Times, for Hamodia and for Mishpacha. Next, I blogged for Type-A Mom and became a columnist for The Mother Magazine. In short time, I was writing for dozens of venues.

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En route, I adopted a hibernaculum of imaginary hedgehogs. Those sulky muses spurred me to additionally compose speculative and literary fiction, to gyrate new poems, and to engender fresh essays. They insisted that I again habituate myself to ravenous reading, too.

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Consequently, beyond the hours I spent informally eating up essentially anonymous collections, individual bits by named newbies, or the latest and greatest particulars by established authors, I also professionally read fiction for Bewildering Stories, nonfiction for Notes and Grace Notes, and poetry for Sotto Voce. Moreover, I began publishing literary criticism at Tangent and began assessing texts within the auspices of a handful of writers’ circles. This immersion in “reverse rhetoric,” coupled with the feedback I was receiving, on my own work, from other writers and editors, helped me to become more disciplined and introduced me both to new skills and to new levels of old skills.

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I began to organize my raw ideas in electronic files, to keep track of strange, yet succulent words, and to salvage snippets of prose or poetics trimmed from work heading to market. I became more heedful of “describing” instead of “professing,” of differentiating among characters’ voices via both semantic and syntactical devices, and of employing the necessary steps for creating ostensibly seamless narrative. I credit this steeping of myself in the opposite processes of reading and writing for the sprouting of my work in hundreds of places.

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Other benefits I’ve derived from this type of verification include an increase in awards and an upsurge in media opportunities. This mathematics of writing recently generated a fiction honor from Strange Weird and Wonderful and a nomination, from The Shine Journal, for the Pushcart Prize, in the genre of poetry. What’s more, these complimentary operations are increasing the acceptance rate of my book-length projects. The existence of my newest compilation of essays, Oblivious to the Obvious: Wishfully Mindful Parenting proves how reliably this rechecking works.

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In the past, inverse operations helped me to succeed with calculus. Today, such processes help me to achieve through my words.

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Thanks for reading JWorld Café, the Poetica Magazine Blog

KJ Hannah Greenberg, Guest Blogger

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Pushcart Prize nominee, KJ Hannah Greenberg's work has appeared in The Jerusalem Post, Mother Magazine and The New Vilna Review, among others. She has been an editor at Bewildering Stories and Sotto Voce and critic at Tangent. She is also the recipient of several writing awards, including a fiction honor from Strange, Weird and Wonderful. She is the author of Oblivious to the Obvious: Wishfully Mindful Parenting, which is available at French Creek Press and on Amazon.com. Please contact her at http://kjhannahgreenberg.net  - Linda Pressman, Blog Editor

You can’t write in a vacuum. Sure, lots of us seek solitude at writing retreats but it’s also true that as a writer, you need to be around people. We particularly need to be around other writers, both for inspiration and support.

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My many writer friends bring different things to the table. One peer may have a treasure trove of ideas on how to promote your work. He or she is always encouraging you, giving you a nudge to keep sending it out. My co-writer, Nancy Naigle, has the disciplined, organized side of writing down to a science. Always the optimist, she urges me to keep goal sheets to stay on the right path for my aspirations.

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About ten years ago, I attended an open mic event where I met Pete, a fellow poet. His animated mannerisms and expression while presenting a poem both surprised and impressed me and I left quite blown away by the presentation. At the time, the yearly open mic at the library was the only avenue available locally for reading my poetry. Over time, Pete came to spearhead an effort to make poetry reading an every day occurrence somewhere in Hampton Roads. Befriending him was one of the reasons I am still writing poetry. We often meet at Starbucks to roll new ideas around.

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Denise is a friend who wowed me with Secret Pal cards and gifts, and monthly notes. Her workshops often focus on putting the five senses in your writing. When attending her workshop, I used five colored markers to highlight each instance of sight, sound, taste, touch and smell. I came to realize that I tend to use some senses more than others when writing. Being in the company of this writer is a support system because she helps those around her color their work and acquire their dreams.

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My friend Nathan emphasizes the spiritual side of writing. The One who gave us the talent to write should be remembered when we’re choosing topics to cover. Nathan’s country roots mirror mine, and his poems are deeply reflective of his upbringing.

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Creative people in other fields, whether music or art, can be inspiring as well. A friend of mine, Larry, is a talented musician and art teacher. His advice that other creative areas can serve as a jumpstart for writing holds true. His reminders to focus and not be derailed by distractions are something that I am taking to heart as well.

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When Bill, professor of journalism and communications, asked me to address his class on the topic of romance writing, at first I felt reluctant to say yes. I had e-pubbed but didn’t have a romance novel in print. Because of the five years’ worth of workshops I had attended, he said he considered me an expert. Would I have enough information to give a talk on the subject? It turns out I had more data than time to share it all in his classroom. I’ve been back twice to talk on the subject. Always encouraging and interested, Bill is an integral part of my support system.

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I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the newspaper editors I’ve worked with and the years of both support and training I’ve gotten from them. While pushing me to write my best and to find the most interesting stories out there, these people have fine-tuned my work.

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My buddy Phil likes to pass on quotes he hears from literary radio programs and has sometimes saved clippings that he thinks will interest me. Always the cheerleader, he’s even bought seven or eight of my books. It’s nice to have friends like that at your book signings. After publishing three poetry books with a fourth co-written suspense novel getting high ranks in contests, I've had many book signings and  envision book signings for that one in the near future.

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As the husband of a writer friend reminded me once, always say “when” not “if” when talking about my writing. He became another unexpected friend in a support system that’s turned out wide, indeed.

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Thanks for reading JWorld Cafe, the Poetica Magazine Blog

Phyllis Johnson, Guest Blogger

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Phyllis Johnson writes a weekly column for The Virginian-Pilot newspaper. Her work has also appeared in Tidewater Teacher magazine, The Sun, Woman's World, and Contempo magazine. She is the author of three books: Hot and Bothered by It, a book of midlife humor, Being Frank with Anne, a poetic interpretation of the Diary of Anne Frank, and Twelve is for More Than Doughnuts, a spiritual book of poems and essays. She is currently marketing Inkblot, a YA suspense novel co-written with Nancy Naigle. Please visit her website: www.phyllisjohnson.net - Linda Pressman, Blog Editor

I’m back with more adventures to report from the Jewish Book Council tour of Yiddish Yoga: Ruthie’s Adventures in Love, Loss and the Lotus Position.

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In Houston, Texas, everything is big – breakfast, hair, the state itself. I arrived on a Monday night at 6 pm, but by the time I schlepped my bags to the fancy schmancy limousine waiting for me, (the benefits of celebrity!) it was close to 7 pm. The room at the Marriott is pleasant enough (with an excellent view of Starbucks) and I sleep like a baby, looking forward to a hot cup of strong coffee.

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I am invited to speak to the Beth Yeshurun’s Sisterhood’s Annual Luncheon at the local synagogue. Sandy, my escort, grabs my hand and with a mild drawl, says, "tell me about the rock" (my engagement ring). And so it goes. She tells me she is married to a “jubba” – a Jewish Bubba, who happens to be a doctor, a Dr. Jubba. Later, over delicious raspberry sorbet, as I was signing books, I find out that in Yiddish, jubba means frog in Yiddish!

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The Texan ladies are charming. One woman, though, sticks in my mind. She said, “darlin’, you were fabulous this mornin’! I really enjoyed your reading, But you read so much from your charmin’ book, that I don’t feel compelled to buy it now. Good luck, sweetie pie!”

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Oy vey. I sold quite a few books, and signed a few gals up for my Yiddish Yoga Cruise to Aruba and Curacao (March, 2010!) and headed to Indianapolis where I was treated to the most delicious Greek food I’ve ever had by my lovely hostess. I also reunited with an old friend from the University of Chicago Divinity School. My poor mother thought I’d be a rabbi, and I ended up studying Protestants and Capitalism. I’m happy to report there is a vibrant Jewish community in Indianapolis.

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P.S. If you are interested in joining Ruthie and Lisa for the First Annual Yoga Cruise on Holland America Line please call 1-800-695-5253. Lisa will teach yoga classes and a writing class called Facing the Blank Page, Facing the Yoga Mat. Hope to see you at sea kvetching and stretching, twisting and schvtizing!

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You can read more about Ruthie’s adventures and memories as she kvetches and stretches her way through yoga poses and braids the yoga tradition with her Jewish tradition, like a braided challah bread in the book Yiddish Yoga: Ruthy’s Adventures in Love, Loss and the Lotus Position.

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Thank you for reading JWorld Cafe, The Poetica Magazine Blog

Lisa Grunberger, Guest Blogger

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Lisa Grunberger was raised in Long Island, NY, by an Israeli mother and a Viennese Father. She holds a doctorate in Comparative Religions from the University of Chicago Divinity School, is a Yoga teacher, a college professor and a published writer. Her chapbook of poems, Root Canal: Love Poems is forthcoming from Poets Wear Prada Press (Roxeanne Hoffman, editor, Hoboken, NJ). She has been published in such journals as The Paterson Literary Review, Mudfish, Nimrod, The Drunken Boat, and Bridges: A Jewish Feminist Journal. She has taught at universities including Hofstra, the Bronx Community College, SUNY at Old Westbury and Parsons, and the School of Design at The New School. She is currently an Assistant Professor in English at Temple University in Philadelphia. Her illustrated gift book, Yiddish Yoga: Ruthy’s Adventures in Love, Loss and the Lotus Pose was published by New Market Press in September, 2009.

I will let Ruthie, the recently widowed Jewish grandmother, who is the narrator of my book, Yiddish Yoga, tell you her story about books, reading and Chanukah, the festival of light. (Ruthie sometime turns her personal stories into folk tales).

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It is said that the Jewish people are “people of the Book.” To my Harry I owe an understanding of what this means, because of his gift to me of one book, The Joys of Yiddish by Leo Rosten. This is a humorous collection of popular Yiddish words each illustrated by a joke.

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One Chanukah early in our marriage, we visited my parents, who spoke Yiddish at home. Momma put out a plate of golden potato pancakes with apple sauce and sour cream and a plate of hot suvganiyot, fried doughnuts dusted with confectioner’s sugar filled with apricot preserves.

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“Harry, why don’t you read to us from The Joys of Yiddish?”

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I wanted Momma and Poppa to see how funny Harry was. How heimish, which means homey, like family. Harry picks up the book, and I could tell he was nervous, for he was perspiring. It was hot in my parents’ NYC apartment. where you couldn’t adjust the heat. He turns to a random page.

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“Chozzerai: pronounced kho-zair-eye to rhyme with “roz her eye.” A Yiddish derivation from the Hebrew “khazir,” pig.

Food that is awful. “Who can eat such chozzerai?”

Junk, trash.

Anything disgusting.

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“In modern terms, chozzerai means crap. This may be a gross libel on the innocent pig since the pig, contrary to popular belief, is a quite tidy creature; he wallows in mud because he likes to stay cool.”

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“So Harry, you think I serve you chozzerai? You eat pig? You feed my daughter meat that is not kosher? You don’t like my baking? You think we’re not fancy enough?”

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Harry composed himself. “Mrs. Greenberg, Jewish tradition tells us that Elijah, the perpetually journeying prophet, appears in many unexpected guises in order to help people recover the spark of their lives. Books that we love are our lights, that help us dedicate and re-dedicate ourselves, which is the meaning of Chanukah, for the temple was rededicated. I am a lawyer, and I love words and books and New York, and culture and Yiddish and Hebrew. . . and your daughter, Ruthie. She is my light, my book, my miracle. I have dedicated my life to hers, we are building a Jewish life, a Jewish home together. And by the way, these are the most delicious suvganiyot I’ve ever tasted. A real mekhaye, a real joy.”

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My mother looked at the table full of food, the Chanukah candles burning in the living room, my father half asleep in the leather armchair, the Jewish Forward in his lap. Tears poured from her eyes, and she gave him many kisses and hugs. “You speak Yiddish, a learned man, a modern man, a mensch with golden words, words he makes dance. My son, my son, may you be happy together, with pigs, without pigs, with books, with children, with each other’s light.”

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Each Chanukah we made a tradition of remembering Momma’s blessing and reading from The Joys of Yiddish. And it’s such a funny book, we kept a box of Kleenex beside us because we all laughed so hard we’d cry.

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Now I bring in The Joys of Yiddish to my yoga classes and read to my students some of the strange sounding words and phrases. It makes them laugh, and Harry and Momma agreed this is the most pleasing sound to God. I have often said that I dedicate my yoga practice to my Harry. It’s like lighting a yahrzeit candle for him daily. My body is the dancing flame that continues to burn for him.

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You can read more about Ruthie’s adventures and memories as she kvetches and stretches her way through yoga poses and braids the yoga tradition with her Jewish tradition, like a braided challah bread, in the book Yiddish Yoga: Ruthie’s Adventures in Love, Loss and the Lotus Position.

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Thanks for reading JWorld Cafe, the Poetica Magazine Blog

Lisa Grunberger, Guest Blogger

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Lisa Grunberger was raised in Long Island, NY, by an Israeli mother and a Viennese Father. With a doctorate in Comparative Religions from the University of Chicago Divinity School, as a Yoga teacher, a college professor and published writer, Lisa Grunberger is an entertaining and passionate public speaker. Her chapbook of poems, Root Canal: Love Poems is forthcoming from Poets Wear Prada Press (Roxeanne Hoffman, editor, Hoboken, NJ). She has been published in such journals as The Paterson Literary Review, Mudfish, Nimrod, The Drunken Boat, and Bridges: A Jewish Feminist Journal. She has taught at universities including Hofstra, the Bronx Community College, SUNY at Old Westbury and Parsons, and the The New School School of Design. She is currently an Assistant Professor in English at Temple University in Philadelphia. Her illustrated gift book, Yiddish Yoga: Ruthie’s Adventures in Love, Loss and the Lotus Pose was published by New Market Press in September, 2009.

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www.yiddishyoga.com

lisa@yiddishyoga.com

Yiddish Yoga Author Lisa Grunberger’s Adventures in St. Louis, Missouri for the Jewish Book Festival, November, 2009

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In my presentation of my book at JCCs and Borders I move between my voice and my character, Ruthie’s voice. Ruthie is a recently widowed 72 year old Jewish Bubby (not Bubba, like they had in Houston, Texas, where I just was the speaker at the annual Sisterhood luncheon, a fabulous event) whose granddaughter Stephanie, gives her the gift of yoga to help her grieve. Ruthie kvetches: “ Who other than meshuguneh artists and the unemployed can afford to do yoga in the afternoon?” I’ll turn it over to Ruthie now.

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I just returned from a book tour that the mensch-lich folks of the Jewish Book Council sent me on. I was in St. Louis, Missouri where I was wined and dined by two terrific women (and bubbe’s like me!) – Nancy and Barbara. I would write their last names, but who knows what the privacy policies are on these meshugeneh virtual airwaves.

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I was given a marvelous tour of the newly renovated JCC by Marcia Levy, the maven organizer who runs a tight, but fun ship. These folks are proud of their JCC and their vibrant Jewish community. I wish I had taken a picture of the swimming pool area Marcia showed me. Before my presentation of Yiddish Yoga, I witnessed toddlers from the local Jewish day-care center splashing in this spectacular pool and right next to them, separated by buoys, were seniors citizens swimming laps. The young and the old side by side mid-morning, a moving sight. And I thought to myself, this is lovely, but what happens in between –the people who need to splash and play the most – all the over-worked Americans in mid-life – should be immersed in these waters. But enough kvetching.

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After hanging out with the photographer and the staff in the “green room” kibitzing and having coffee, I was escorted into the grand space. The audience could not have been more receptive – it was like a live laugh track! I was kvelling. And it’s true, that a performer (if I may call myself this) does indeed get energy from the audience. We did chair yoga, we did tree pose, and seated twists. Oy, it was so much fun. Even their technical sound system was impressive,. These folks on St. Louis know how to throw a Jewish Book Festival! Would you believe they are the largest Jewish Book Festival in the United States? And I, Ruthie, was up on the stage, kvetching and stretching, schvitzing and twisting. I’m kvelling for myself.

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After the show and the book signing where I met countless mensch-lich people (and if you don’t know the Yiddish, my book, Yiddish Yoga, has a Yiddish and a Sanskrit glossary), we went for lunch at a beautiful park on a lake. The best part was the old-fashioned custard at Ted Drewes after. This is an historically important foodie spot on Route 66 as it should be for ice-cream, after all, is one of life’s great blessings. Sometimes my memory isn’t so good, but it’s improving with all the yoga I’ve been doing. I think Barbara had strawberries and bananas on her custard, and Barbara had a brownie sundae. I had the brownies with pistacho nuts – delicious is not the word for it. I wish they could place it in dry ice and ship me some to NYC right now.

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Stay tuned for accounts of my travels to Houston and Indiana.

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I’ll leave you with one of my Twitters (you can follow me on this at Yiddish Yoga; I’m getting hip to all this technology at my age):

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I was at Loehmann’s and tried on a one-size-fits-all. It was too small; good thing I’m flexible or I’d still be stuck!

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Ok, here’s one more, and then I’m saying Om Shalom.

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It’s raining, it’s pouring, a yente on the mat is snoring!

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OM SHALOM,

Guest Bloggers LISA AND RUTHIE

Thanks for reading JWorld Cafe, the Poetica Magazine Blog

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- www.yiddishyoga.com 

- lisa@yiddishyoga.com 

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Lisa Grunberger was raised in Long Island, NY, by an Israeli mother and a Viennese Father. With a doctorate in Comparative Religions from the University of Chicago Divinity School, as a Yoga teacher, a college professor and published writer, Lisa Grunberger is an entertaining and passionate public speaker. Her chapbook of poems, Root Canal: Love Poems is forthcoming from Poets Wear Prada Press (Roxeanne Hoffman, editor, Hoboken, NJ). She has been published in such journals as The Paterson Literary Review, Mudfish, Nimrod, The Drunken Boat, and Bridges: A Jewish Feminist Journal. She has taught at universities including Hofstra, the Bronx Community College, SUNY at Old Westbury and Parsons, and The New School School of Design. She is currently an Assistant Professor in English at Temple University in Philadelphia. Her illustrated gift book, Yiddish Yoga: Ruthy’s Adventures in Love, Loss and the Lotus Pose was published by New Market Press in September, 2009.

Last February I began taking a local writers workshop called Mothers Who Write, taught by two editors of local newspapers.  Much to my surprise, in our first class meeting, they asked us all if we had blogs.

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I did have a blog at that time, though I had allowed it to become inactive.  While I had been planning my son's Bar Mitzvah, caught up in the insanity of all the minute details of the service and the party, I needed an outlet, so I started my blog.  Also, my son had become a little high-maintenance on me, becoming the Bar Mitzvah version of a Bridezilla - a Bar Mitzvahzilla, which is how the blog got its name.

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But my blog was my own little secret.  I wrote it, didn't post it anywhere, didn't share it with anyone, didn't tell anyone about it.  A few weeks after the big event, I wrote the final entries and then stopped writing.  I missed it, but I thought with a name like that, it was just too event-specific to continue.

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My instructors, however, had a different idea.  They told us in no uncertain terms that a serious writer nowadays has to have a blog and an Internet presence.  You can't hide in your house writing and expect the world to find you somehow.  They pretty much shook us down that day to admit which of us had blogs and then they sent the links to our classmates.  I was out of the closet and back in the blog business.

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I now consider this the turning point in my writing.  Having some kind of schedule for writing, both for this blog and my personal blog, having my writing out in the world without absolutely being certain of its reception, this was a big leap for me. 

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Start a blog.  Link to other writer's blogs in your blog.  Promote your work.  Amazing things may happen. 

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Thanks for reading JWorld Cafe, the Poetica Magazine Blog

Linda Pressman, Blog Editor

Two days of Rosh Hashanah celebration and services are now over. Four of our Congregation Bet Shalom writing group members read five different poems and essays at appropriate times during the services. Their contributions were greatly appreciated by the congregation.

The first evening’s service was opened by Sophia Bressler, reading her explanation and prayer “Teruah.” Later she told me that she had felt quite nervous when she began to read, but she was happy as she realized that people were listening and engaged in what she had to say. Everyone shared in her blessing: “Avinu Shebashamayim, I pray to You for Peace on Earth…”

Rachel Port read her midrash on Abraham, “Love.” Here is the final stanza:

Love has brought me no joy. Love is pain.

Perhaps that has been God’s lesson for me.

They just told me Sarah has died. I who am

not yet dead, now I am truly old.

I want no more love. It is time

For Isaac to marry and take on the burden

of the promise. As for me,

I will settle for peace.

She also wrote an essay about how she came to Abraham’s voice, which she has published with Associated Content:

Both of these stories show our patriarch Abraham as a frightening father….These stories have always troubled me…. Beginning the second year of the writing group I also wrote a series of poems about abuse in my own family, using symbolism from Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. All three are written from my point of view, but the first focuses on my mother's father, the second on my mother, and the third and last on me. From the beginning I conceived of this as a set of three poems. The first two came quickly, one after the other, and were read the second and third years. The third poem was harder for me to write; I could not figure out how to focus the final poem for another two years. When I finally did, I realized that I had not been able to forgive my grandfather, who died before I was born, for his abuse of my mother, and until I could let go of my anger, I could not find my own voice. The third poem was read last year.

And I think I couldn't get over my anger at Abraham until I let go of that more personal anger. My life has been fuller and more meaningful since I was able to forgive two old men I never knew. So this process of writing for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur over time has allowed me to work through important personal issues by understanding the Biblical family of Abraham. The group has helped me make the inward journey of the High Holidays and extend forgiveness to all concerned, even myself.

Rachel commented that as she read the poem from the bima this morning, after we read the Genesis story of the binding of Isaac, she felt the voice of Abraham completely take over her own.

I didn’t have a chance to talk to the other readers about their experiences, but they read confidently and with great feeling. People paid attention during the readings and could be seen looking at the booklet where all the work appeared. Several people in the congregation told me how much the creative work added to their experience. Everyone seems to be encouraged in their own searching by hearing the original words of their friends as part of the service.

Tashlich, Yom Kippur, and more readings will take place in the next week. For me, great satisfaction comes from knowing that my work with this group has helped both the writers and so many others to grow spiritually. And several people have told me that they hope to join the group in the future. I’m looking forward to resuming our meetings before too long….

When I began taking writing classes at a local community college in 2001, I was relieved to find out that there were students of all ages in my classes - literally from 18 to 80 years old since I was 41 at the time.  One of the reasons I had been afraid to take a class was that I was worried I'd be older than the other students.  Another had been that, with a degree, I thought it would be strange to take a lower division creative writing class at a community college.  That bit of ego was laid to rest right away too.  It turns out that plenty of people want to write and take writing classes.  In one of the first classes I took, the person sitting next to me already had earned a PhD. 

One of the older women in my first class had already taken that particular class eleven times.  She and her friends had no intention of ever not taking the class.  The semester I was enrolled with her, as a matter of fact, she missed nearly every class due to illness, yet she was enrolled and, according to the professor, she continued to do the work and do the writing from her hospital room.  She ended up earning a certificate in Creative Writing from the college and won a Poetry award. 

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I can always make up a lot of reasons why something's not going to work out for me.  I gave myself 41 years of excuses for not ever taking a writing class before walking into that class that day.  If I could have done it any other way I would have but, ultimately, I had to stop making excuses and start writing. 

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I don't know where the writing is going to end up but I do know that I have now learned to write; I've produced a body of work.  My words live not just inside my head anymore.  Everytime I press send, everytime I press enter, my words have an eternity of their own now.  

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Thanks for reading JWorld Cafe, The Poetica Magazine Blog

Linda Pressman, Blog Editor

Often tried to look us down

Deliberately tried to knock us down

Premeditatedly planned to run us down

Though you could have left us down

Collaborated in secret to keep us down

However from the dust we shall rise

Gaining substance in His light

Triumphantly we shall stay alive

His love will always be in our sight

Filled with all His power and might

Like Pharaoh relieved of his negative plight

He is waiting to bring you into His light!

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© Joseph S. Spence, Sr., 8/19/09

© All Rights Reserved

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