On February 8, B’nai Jeshurun will hold a day of learning to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Judith Plaskow’s groundbreaking book, “Standing Again at Sinai.” In the lead up to the event, The Sisterhood is asking participants questions on issues surrounding feminism and Judaism. Here, Joy Ladin, author of “Through the Door of Life A…
Through the Door of Life: A Jewish Journey Between Genders By Joy Ladin University of Wisconsin Press, 270 pages, $26.95 Probably one of the best-known Jewish stories in the world is a transgender tale. A young educator realizes that they really belong with the opposite gender. And, although it overturns social convention and throws families…
It’s tempting to read nearly anything by Joy (previously Jay) Ladin against the backdrop of her decision some five years ago to become a woman. That is certainly the case with “The Grave of Craving,” featured today on The Arty Semite as part of our poem-a-day series in honor of National Poetry Month. Taking its…
Benjamin Ivry remembers French politician and media figure Françoise Giroud. Jake Marmer reviews “Coming To Life,” a poetry collection by Joy Ladin. Philologos goes to learn in yeshiva. Cheryl Kaplan goes to see “The Sota Project,” a 22-minute film installation about adultery, betrayal and doubt. Adam Rovner studies Israeli slang. Alicia Ostriker refects on the…
In this, the second annual Forward Fives selection, we celebrate the year’s cultural output with a series of deliberately eclectic choices in film, music, theater, exhibitions and books. Here we present five of the most important Jewish poetry books of 2010. Feel free to argue with and add to our selections in the comments. All…
“The author is dead!” has been a consistent postmodernist refrain discouraging readers from reducing meanings of literary works to mere biographical outlines of their authors. Joy Ladin’s “Transmigration Poems,” published this summer, goes against such a worldview, as the poems of the collection are intensely personal, confessional. The poems bring autobiography to the heart of…
