Reading of New Poems Reflecting the Jewish Experience

Join us for a Zoom reading of poems published in the October, 2024, Jewish Experience special section of the Mid-Atlantic Review. This event will include reading by twenty-three poets published in the section hosted by editors Ori Z. Soltes and Robert Bettmann and guest host Rabbi Sarah Tasman.

Read more about the published works here.

This reading will feature poets Lisa Badner, Audrey Marcus Berkman, Bruce Black, Jessica de Koninck, David Ebenbach, Avishai Edenburg, Rachel Feld-Reichner, Eric Fischman, Daniel H.R. Fishman, Diane Gottlieb, W Luther Jett, Jacqueline Jules, Elizabeth Kanell, Yehoshua November, Penny Perry, Elizabeth Poliner, Carly Sachs, Sarah Sassoon, Ellen Sazzman, Ronnie Scharfman, Jane Schapiro, Ivy Schweitzer, and Laura Hodes Zacks.

Ori Z Soltes (host, editor) is a professor teaching at Georgetown University’s Center for the Study of Jewish Civilization. A pre-eminent scholar of Jewish art, culture, and history, Soltes has authored or edited nearly 30 books as well as scores of articles and exhibition catalogue essays. His poetry has been published and anthologized broadly and he is a 2024 artist grant recipient from Prince George’s County, Maryland for a forthcoming book of poems.

Robert Bettmann (host, editor) is founder and managing editor of Day Eight’s literary magazine, the Mid-Atlantic Review. He serves as director of Day Eight’s book publishing arm and editor for the majority of books acquired and published by Day Eight. He is the author of the book, Somatic Ecology: Somatics, Nature, Humanity, and the Human Body.

Rabbi Sarah Tasman (host) is the Director of Jewish Journeys and Engagement for the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington. Ordained by the Rabbinical School of Hebrew College in 2012, she is founder of the Tasman Center for Jewish Creativity, a faculty member at The Adas Israel Community Mikvah, and has taught Jewish mindfulness classes for numerous congregations and organizations.

Participating poet brief bios

Lisa Badner’s debut poetry collection, Fruit Cake, was published in 2022 by Unsolicited Press.

Audrey Marcus Berkman serves as Senior Rabbi of Temple Ohabei Shalom in Brookline, Massachusetts.

Bruce Black is editorial director of The Jewish Writing Project.

Jessica de Koninck is the author of Cutting Room, and the chapbook Repairs.

David Ebenbach teaches creative writing at Georgetown University and is the author of the poetry collections We Were the People Who Moved, Some Unimaginable Animal, and What’s Left to Us by Evening.

Avishai Edenburg, an Israeli, an American, and a grandchild to Holocaust survivors from Hungary, writes poetry about the intersections of Israeli, Jewish and Ashkenazi identities.

Rachel Feld-Reichner, a doula and women's health advocate, received her MFA in Creative Writing for Children and Young Adults from VCFA.

Eric Raanan Fischman's book, Mordy Gets Enlightened, was published by The Little Door in 2017 and reissued by Turnsol Editions in 2021.

Daniel H.R. Fishman's book of poetry and creative nonfiction, Everyday Sublime, was published by Garden Oak Press.

Diane Gottlieb is the editor of Awakenings: Stories of Body & Consciousness and the Prose/CNF editor of Emerge Literary Journal.

W Luthor Jett is the author of five poetry chapbooks; his full-length collection, Flying to America, was released in the spring of 2024 by Broadstone Press.

Jacqueline Jules' poetry has appeared in over 100 publications and she is the author of several collections of poetry.

Beth Kanell's memoirs are on Medium and her reviews at the New York Journal of Books and Historical Novels Review.

Yehoshua November teaches writing at Rutgers University and Touro College and is the author of three books of poetry: God’s Optimism, Two Worlds Exist , and The Concealment of Endless Light.

Penny Perry has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize six times, by six different publishers and her most recent poetry books are, Santa Monica Disposal and Salvage, and, Woman with Newspaper Shoes.

Elizabeth Poliner’s new novel, Spinning at the Edges, is forthcoming from HarperCollins and her published books include the poetry collection, What You Know in Your Hands, and the novel, As Close to Us as Breathing.

Carly Sachs is the author of, The Steam Sequence, and, Descendants of Eve.

Sarah Sasoon is an Australian born, Iraqi Jewish writer, poet, and educator and the author of the award winning picture book, Shoham’s Bangle.

Ellen Sazzman is a Pushcart-nominated poet, awarded first place in the Dancing Poetry Festival; her debut novel, Wild Irish Yenta, was published in 2024.

Ronnie Scharfman is a Professor Emerita of French and Francopone Literatures at SUNY-Purchase who has been writing poetry and midrash with Alicia Ostriker and Sharon Dolin for many years; Her chapbook, In Poem and Prayer, was published in 2013.

Jane Schapiro has published three volumes of poetry and a book of nonfiction.

Ivy Schweitzer teaches English and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Dartmouth College and her collection of poems, Tumult, Whitewash, and Stretch Marks, was published recently by Finishing Line Press.

Laura Hodes Zacks writes frequently about the arts for the Forward, and excerpts from her unpublished non-fiction manuscript, Arrivals and Departures, about the journey of her family, have been published recently in Lilith, Allium and ofthebook.