12/31/10

"Literary" Jewish writing for adults

In literary circles, there's much talk of the "new Yiddishists" movement. This includes writers such as Michael Chabon, Ayelet Waldeman, Nicole Krauss, Jonathan Safran Foer, Lev Grossman, and Dara Horn. All of these writers bring somethings of their Jewish identity to the page: Jewish characters, the Yiddish and Hebrew languages, allusions to holidays, midrashim, shared history, and the like. These writers are quite gifted...I'd highly recommend Krauss's The History of Love and Horn's In the Image for those who want to see spiritual introspection balanced with imaginative storytelling. However, their books aren't "Orthodox".

Many if not most of the novels published by Orthodox publishers were written originally as serials in magazines or by those used to writing for magazines. This is not bad--in fact I enjoy many of these books--it's just a very different style of storytelling. Writing a serial for the first time myself right now, I can see that as fun as they are to read and to write, they are different. You have deadlines and word counts hanging over your head. You have publishers and readers who will be furious if you don't complete the project. Readers want to see a lot going on in each episode, yet be able to keep the plot in their head from week to week. There are mashgichim at both the religious magazines and religious publishing houses who must be satisfied. For them, the message is considered at least as important as the form, if not more.

In the secular world, a novelist has different requirements. You need space for character development. Time to ponder and reconsider and revise. You might want to capture a wider range of emotions and topics than necessarily acceptable to a mashgiach. You might want to venture into experimental structure. You might want an audience beyond the religious community. The artful novelist does not necessarily thrive under the conditions usually found in the frum publishing world.

There are exceptions. Here's one: currently, HaModia has an amazing serial called This is America. I've been following it for a year and am praying that it will end up in a novel form at its conclusion because I want to recommend it to all my friends. It's THAT good. Also, Sarah Shapiro's writing--though not fiction--shows a flair and precision of language that is rare in even the secular world. It often reads like a novel even when it is non-fiction.

In the past few years, the climate for Orthodox literature has changed. Interestingly, it seems to be occurring when secular publishers put out Orthodox books, partly I think because of the success of the likes of Chabon, Horn, et al.

For a couple of decades, Rochelle Krich has been a trailblazer in this department. Her mysteries are particularly well-written and substantive. I'd describe the pacing and plotting of her early books as the stuff of bestsellers, not the "literary novel." However, her more recent Molly Blume novels have become increasingly literary.

Krich's successors are finding their works in the bookstores and libraries across America now. Risa Miller has put out two prize-winning books: Welcome to Heavenly Heights and My Before and After Life. (I particularly enjoyed the later.) Ruchama King Feuerman's Seven Blessings has invited comparisons to Jane Austen. She autopsies the shidduch culture of BTs in Jerusalem, yet does so with humanity, not scorn. Though not a novelist, the award-winning poet Yehoshua November also demonstrates that it is possible to be sophisticated in form and substance and frum.

I was extremely hopeful when I saw the website for The Writer's Cafe, an Orthodox literary magazine. Perhaps this would be a format for Jewish writers to print more material "outside the box." However, it appears that the project is at least temporarily suspended. I was disappointed at the news and hope it comes back. The new Ami magazine (disclaimer, my new serial appears in their "tween" supplement) also aspires to a different style of writing.

I'm hoping that readers will buy into this new model, because I think the scarcity of reading material that is "kosher" in the market right now drives more avid readers to read secular material that contains inappropriate language and ideas. I also see that improving the style of Jewish literature and its accessibility brings with it the opportunity for Jews to be a light unto the nations. Books like Seven Blessings and My Before and After Life bring healthy hashkafa into the lives of non-Jews as well as Jews who might not pick up a more stereotypical "frum book".

fantasy, sci-fi and the Jewish reader

Thanks to my brother-in-law Joshua, I just heard about a wonderful new graphic novel called Hereville. The subject: an 11 y o Orthodox girl fights trolls. With a little research, I discovered that this is currently the #1 Jewish book for kids being sold on Amazon. This doesn't surprise me in this least. There is a dearth of fantasy and sci-fi books for Jewish kids out there, but there is certainly demand.

Look at the popularity of Harry Potter novels, Percy Jackson adventures, The Dragonriders of Pern, the Circle of Magic series (by Tamora Pierce), The Blue Sword and other books by Robin McKinley, and all those early Heinleins (in his pre-Stranger in a Strange Land days when he still wrote "appropriate" material). Frankly, kids crave these types of books. Why? 1) Kids and teens want to be experience more than their everyday lives. This is escapism from the discomforts of childhood--bullying, homework, parental rule, etc. 2) Kids and teens are still learning to be comfortable with themselves. They have yet to learn many of their personal strengths and often feel inadequate. Many of them hope their hidden talents will "magically" come out and prove them to be special (maybe they'll even save the world!), a common theme in many of these books.

Jewish kids are no different in these psychological needs. Some frum parents let their kids read secular sci-fi books, but there are a lot of problems with unrestricted access to them. Many fantasy books incorporate pantheism, animism, and avodah zara. Some (His Dark Materials series by Phillip Pullman, for example) are outright anti-religion. Others describe magic as an appealing alternative religion (many Tamora Pierce books).

Sci-fi books also frequently espouse atheism or portray Science as religion. Moreover, many frum people are uncomfortable with idea of life on other planets, though it is not clear that this opinion has a sound basis in our tradition. Another big barrier in portraying the future is that Moshiach must come, and most rabbeim hold He'll arrive by the year 6000 on our calendar. Finally, the rigors of space travel introduce unwieldy elements into narratives about Jewish characters: halachic times, Shabbos, kashrus, etc. all must be dealt with.

I think we're slowing coming to grips with these issues. I've seen some fantasy and sci-fi in the fiction department on Chabad.org. A few years ago, there was a fun adult novel of speculative fiction by David Shapiro called The Promise of G-d, and an anthology called Wandering Stars which is Jewish, though certainly not Orthodox. On the juvenile literature front, time travel has become an acceptable subgenre somehow--there's The Devil's Apprentice and Trekking Through Time. In 2009, a blogger described the 2009 Jewish Children's Book Writers and Illustrators Conference at the 92nd Street Y. There, participants were told that among the "in demand" topics was time travel, and that one lecture was about writing Jewish books for the "Twilight Generation".

There was a piece in HaModia for You set in space last year, and currently the Aim tween supplement to Ami Magazine has a serial with a sci-fi mystery called "To the Edge of the Galaxy." (disclaimer: I co-author it with Beth Firestone). Ami specifically wanted a sci-fi spin on the serial.

And now there's Hereville. The reviews I've seen are great, and the readers aren't just religious or even just Jews. Maybe the time for authentically Jewish sci-fi and fantasy books has come. It would be my fantasy come true!




12/28/10

great news!

I haven't been active on my page for a while, but I wanted to share good news with anyone who drops by.

I've been publishing articles on the website www.metroimma.com about parenting small children and connection between real-life and classic children's books.

The new Jewish magazine, Ami, is now available by subscription at http://www.amimagazine.org/ and on the newsstands in NYC and Chicago...hopefully, it'll be available in all major Jewish markets soon. I'm co-authoring one of the weekly serials contained in the Aim tween supplement (my co-author is Beth Firestone, known for her novel Candles in my Window). It's entitled "To the Edge of the Galaxy". The story follows the adventures of an Orthodox family chosen to colonize a distant planet. I'm hoping all you readers up there will pick up a copy of Ami and try it out!

Additionally, Mishpacha Junior magazine published a story of mine a couple of months ago and expects to publish another soon. I'm really enjoying writing for periodicals and will continue to list my ongoing projects.

5/9/10

Wacky Pesach songs

The central mitzvah of the Passover seder is "L'higgadeta L'vincha"—to relate the story of our redemption to children. This means the section of the haggadah called "Maggid" is the most essential portion of it. However, most of the exciting songs and actions of the seder come before or after "Maggid". Some children, even some adults, don't really enjoy this part of the seder for that reason.

I know Pesach is long past, but it's never too early to get ready for next year...

Here is a supplement to the haggadah to be used during "Maggid". Here are the best songs that I wrote this year to help tell the story of our first Pesach. My original lyrics are sung to familiar children's songs for ease of use, and I tried to be true to the original text. Please enjoy and tizku l'mitzvos!

To the tune of "Oh, Susanna"

Oh, we came to old Cana'an

To Mitzrayim for some wheat.

We had to leave our father

For we had no food to eat.

Chorus:

Folks of Egypt!

Can you spare us some wheat?

We had to leave our father

For we had no food to eat.

We rode into old Egypt

There we met a strange viceroy.

He told us he was Yosef

Then embraced us all with joy.

Chorus

We rode back to our abba

Yaacov Avinu was his name.

Then we Jews crossed the desert.

Seventy to Egypt came.

Chorus

To the tune of "My Darlin' Clementine"

(same as "Found a Peanut")

We were free men, we were free men,

Lived in Goshen with our flocks,

Kept our names, clothes and our language,

But then Yosef, folks forgot.

We were free men, we were free men,

Then they turned us into slaves.

Made us build Egyptian cities.

Then the cities became our graves.

Made us work long, make us work tough,

'til we cried out to Hashem,

"Please save us, please redeem us,

then we'll serve you, Lord, again."

To the tune of "Camptown Races"

Jews leave Egypt sing a song

Doo-dah, doo-dah

Jews leave Egypt sing a song

O De-Doo-dah-day

Thank Hashem all night

Thank Hashem all day

Thank Hashem with all our might

Let Moshe lead the way!

2/24/10

good news

CitySpirit, an L.A. Jewish magazine that prints about every two months, wants to see a story from me for Shavuos, so I'm reworking a piece I posted here (deleted blog) and sending it in!

Also, my current wacky writing project is writing some children's songs for the middle, most important but least accessible, part of the seder. They tell the story of our slavery in Egupt and our redemption to the tune of various little kiddie songs. Happy Purim!