Poetry
A Black Jewish poet’s call: High Holiday atonement means reckoning with racial injustice
Aaron Levy Samuels recites his poem, “Forgiveness,” in a moving video.
Sacrifice through Heresy
An autobiographical collection of poems explores the metaphor of sacrificial offerings.
Jewish poet given Christian burial in Belarus
Shmuel Yefimovich Plavnik was a poet, writer and political activist who translated Yiddish literature into Belarusian.
An ‘Al Cheyt’ for white Jews in 5781
“Al Cheyt” for White Jews in 5781. A modern prayer for a troubled world. Jewish Boston.
Winning “chai-kus” from around the country
L’chaim to the winners of the chaiku contest.
Daily distraction: National poetry month
If you’re particularly in the mood for Yiddishkeit, you can watch a YIVO lecture on radical Yiddish poetry.
Q & A: Stephanie Burt On Whether Poetry Matters
“Sometimes a poem will require you to make room for people who aren’t like you.”
Five Centuries of Yiddish Poetry, Written by Women
Joanna Lisek’s book on the dramatic history of Yiddish women poets absolutely needs to be translated into English.
For Adrienne Rich, On Her 90th Birthday
At some point in your life, you will likely hear the maxim that the personal is political.
Mourning Mary Oliver, America’s Spiritual Conscience
Oliver became the voice of something essential and unsung about the country.