Two Poems & A Column

On What We Don't Know, and What We Fear We Already Knew.

I think many of us are wondering how much we already know—whether it is something we dread, and hope is not true, or whether it is something we hope for, that we fear may not happen.

I find that one of the great pleasures of reading is encountering something I truly did not know about. It is soothing, the way true hope is. That’s the way I felt reading Elvira Basevich and Shelby Handler for the first time, in the new Breaking the Glass anthology of contemporary Jewish poetry.

I am therefore sending one poem from each—representing poets I had never heard of, along with a new column on lies and liars in Jewish law, which was inspired by last night’s debate.

Featuring two more poems from this wonderful new anthology, available from the Laurel Review for ten dollars.

Elvira Basevich

The first poem I want to highlight takes its inspiration from the ancient Maccabees. (Who isn’t thinking courageous rebellion—or last stand—right now?)

I will say that I absolutely loved Elvira Basevich’s poem on her Nascar-loving boyfriend, “After Dale Earnhardt Died in a Car Crash,” also featured in the new Breaking the Glass anthology, but unfortunately, it’s too long for the newsletter! So I am going with “The Jewish Hammer,” which starts with the very memorable line—”I am the Maccabees. The Jewish hammer.” Whoa.

Basevich’s poetry collection How to Love the World won Pank’s 2019 Big Book Poetry Contest, and was a finalist for the 2020 National Jewish Book Award. I know nothing else about her.

I love that line—”I am proof that what comes out of the darkness is all that you need to fight it.” Anyway, I’m looking forward to reading more of Elvira Basevich’s work.

Shelby Handler

The next poet I want to feature with one poem is Shelby Handler. This poet’s work is also entirely new to me. Handler is a writer, organizer, and translator living in Seattle. Recent work has appeared or is forthcoming in Poetry, The Iowa Review, Poetry Northwest, and The Journal.

I kind of love the first and last lines. I have been rereading this one often, and I hope it resonates with you, especially its belief in mystery—and its desire for more people to call in an emergency.

This might as well be the emergency poetry newsletter!

“I want to know what you took, but I don’t want it back.” I think sometimes that describes the past few years in America, and in the wider world.

Lies and Liars in Jewish Law

I have a new piece on lies and liars in Jewish law for The Forward, which I wrote after watching last night’s debate. You can read it here: https://forward.com/opinion/628743/trumps-lies-debate-biden/

I really enjoyed digging into ancient ideas on how to deal with lies.

Upcoming Events

I’ll be at the Yetzirah Poetry Conference in Asheville, NC, next week; when I was there last year, I could feel a palpable hunger for Jewish poetry, and that inspired the very first post for this newsletter—”Three Jewish Poets Who Should Be Better Known.”

'I’m excited to return. I will be doing a public reading on Tuesday evening, and a talk on Ibn Ezra, one of my favorite poets, on Wednesday afternoon. You can join in-person or online. Registration details at https://yetzirahpoets.org/

There will be more info on upcoming salons for paid subscribers, who make continuing this newsletter possible, soon. This summer, there will be both in-person and online salons.

Shabbat shalom! Thank you, as always, for reading.

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