Yetzirah Community Calendar

Events marked with an * are those created or co-sponsored by Yetzirah.

Join 2024 Events

September 8
*ONLINE: Yetzirah Reading Series: (5 pm ET) Elana Bell, Enid Shomer, & Daniel Khalastchi
 
September 15

*ONLINE: Yetzirah Workshop: (2 pm-4:30 pm ET) “Season of Our Turning” with Rick Chess

September 22
*ONLINE: Yetzirah Workshop: (12:30-3:00 pm ET) “White Fire, the Art and Play of Midrash: the Journey and Meanings of Exodus” with Alicia Ostriker, first of four sessions

October 13
*ONLINE: Yetzirah Reading Series: (5 pm ET) Sharon Dolin, Lynn Melnick, Ira Sadoff

October 27
*ONLINE:
Yetzirah Book Club: (12:00-1:30 pm ET) I Am of the Tribe of Judah: Poems from Jewish Latin America

November 3
*ONLINE:
Yetzirah Workshop: (2:00-4:30 pm ET) “To See What is Heard: Concretizing the Spiritual and the Abstract” with Yehoshua November

November 10
*ONLINE: Yetzirah Reading Series: (5 pm ET) Michael Dumanis, Lisa Olstein, Carlie Hoffman

November 17
*ONLINE:
Yetzirah Book Club: (12:00-1:30 pm ET) Peter Cole: Draw Me After

December 4
IN-PERSON: Jewish Poetry Book Club, Eastside Jewish Commons, Portland, OR. 12:30-3:00 pm, reading Irena Klepfisz, Her Birth and Later Years, New and
Collected Poems 1971-2021. Email [email protected] with questions.

December 5
*ONLINE:
Yetzirah Workshop: (6:00-7:30 pm ET) “Poetry of the Cosmic All” with Mónica Gomery, first of three sessions

December 11
In-Person:
Philadelphia Yetzirah Salon featuring guest Yehoshua November (6:00 PM), for details and to RSVP email [email protected]

 2025 Events

January 12
*ONLINE: Yetzirah Reading Series: (5 pm ET) Elizabeth Powell, Carol Moldaw, Chanda Feldman

January 19
*ONLINE: Yetzirah Book Club: (12:00-1:30 pm ET) Jason Schneiderman: Self-Portrait of Icarus as a Country on Fire

January 26
*ONLINE: Yetzirah Workshop: (2:00-4:00 pm ET)“Poetry Inspired by Classic Jewish Texts” with Eve Grubin

February 9
*ONLINE: Yetzirah Reading Series: (5 pm ET) Josh Gottlieb-Miller, Diane Mehta, Hadara Bar-Nadav

February 12
*ONLINE:
Yetzirah Workshop: (1:00-2:30 pm ET) “Songs of the Grass: Exploring Jewish Eco-Poetry” with Hila Ratzabi, first of six sessions

February 16
*ONLINE:
Yetzirah Book Club: (12:00-1:30 pm ET) Shirley Kaufmann: Roots in the Air: New and Selected Poems

March 26-29
In-Person:
Join Yetzirah at AWP 25!
      – Stop by our booth at T175 to say hello, and for author signings (TBA).
      – The Jewish Writers Caucus (sponsored by Yetzirah) will meet on March 28, 2025, with details TBA.
      – Yetzirah’s off-site Kabbalat Shabbat and readingwill take place March 28,from 5:30-7:00, at Der Nister.

April 6
*ONLINE:
Yetzirah Reading Series: (5 pm ET) Kendra DeColo, Ava Winter, Jared Harel

 

Previous Events

2024 Events

June 5
IN-PERSON, Portland, OR: Jewish Poetry Book Club at Eastside Jewish Commons, discussing Paradise by Victoria Redel: (12:30-2:30 PM). Contact Betsy

Fogelman Tighe at [email protected] with questions or for more information.

May 14
Online (6PM PT/9PM ET): Coastside Poetry (Northern California) presents Yetzirah member Joel Thomas Katz reading from his new collection Aqueduct (October 2023). Viewable via “https://www.youtube.com/@CoastsidePoetry”. For further information, contact “[email protected]”.

April 14
*ONLINE: Yetzirah Reading Series: (5 pm ET) April 14 (Liberation/Freedom) Matthew Lippman, Rachel Mennies, Nomi Stone 

IN-PERSON, Rensselaer County, NY: Jewish Poetry in the 518 Reading (3:30 PM ET). More details and RSVP here.

April 7
*ONLINE: Yetzirah Book Club: (12 pm ET): Linda Zisquit, Havoc: New & Selected Poems


March 21
*IN-PERSON, NYC: (7 pm ET) “Speaking the World into Being: an Evening of Short Readings,” Join Four Way Books, Yetzirah, and Poets House for readings by Hadara Bar-NadavCarlie HoffmanJessica JacobsIlya KaminskyOwen LewisMatthew Lippman, and Yerra Sugarman. Poets House,  10 River Terrace, New York, NY 10282 (More details & RSVP here)

March 7
ONLINE:  (7:30-9 pm ET) Vermont Jewish Poets Gathering (if you’re a Jewish poet in VT, please register to attend here), hosted by Judith Chalmer, with guest Jessica Jacobs, Ohavi Zedek, Burlington, VT

March 10
*ONLINE: Yetzirah Reading Series: (5 pm ET) March 10 (Wildness) Jake Marmer, Lisa Richter, Leslie Ullman

March 3

February 8-10
*IN-PERSON, Kansas City, MO: AWP Writers’ Conference (FIND ALL THE DETAILS HERE):
  • Come visit Yetzirah in the Bookfair at T945, next to our friends at Ayin Press!
  • With author signings by: Tom Haviv, Jane Muschenetz, Yehoshua November, Aviya Kushner, Yerra Sugarman, Julia Kolchinsky Dasbach, Bonnie Jill Emanuel, Mark Elber, Donna Spruijt-Metz, Jen Karetnick, Anne Myles, Dan Alter, Jessica Jacobs, Hila Ratzabi, Sean Singer, & Carlie Hoffman.
  • Thursday, Feb. 8, 9-10:15 am CST,  The Epigenetics of Joy: Writing Judaism Beyond Trauma” with Chanda Feldman, Jessica Jacobs, Erika MeitnerYehoshua November, & Sean Singer, Room 2208, Kansas City Convention Center, Street Level
  • Friday, Feb. 9, 6-7:30 pm CST, Yetzirah Kabbalat Shabbat & offsite event, with readers Hadara Bar-Nadav, Tom Haviv, Jessica Jacobs, Lynn Melnick, Leslie Contreras Schwartz, Donna Spruijt-Metz, & Yerra Sugarman. With hosts Dan Alter & Jessica Jacobs, and the service led by Rabbi Mark Elber, Unity Temple on the Plaza, Temple Space, 707 W 47th St, Kansas City, MO 64112
January 14
*ONLINE: Yetzirah Reading Series: January 14 (Trees/Nature) Susan Aizenberg, Lauren Camp, Taije Silverman

2023 Events

December 14
ONLINE: From Darkness to Light: Poetry in Celebration of Hanukkah hosted by Jared Beloff

December 12
IN-PERSON & ONLINE:  PORTLAND, ME: Yetzirah Poets of Maine—A Chanukah Reading with poets Sally Bliumis-Dunn, Meghan Sterling, Anna Wrobel and hosts Ilana Gilg and Jim Donnelly (a zoom link will be sent to all who register at this link). Jewish Community Alliance of Southern Maine 1342 Congress Street /Portland, Maine 04102

December 6, 13, 20
*ONLINE: Yetzirah Workshop: “Writing God” with Joy Ladin

December 3
*ONLINE: Yetzirah Book Club: Victoria Redel, Paradise

November 13
ONLINE: Jewish Book Council’s 2023 Jewish Writers’ Conference: The Epi­ge­net­ics of Joy: Writ­ing Judaism Beyond Trau­ma with Chan­da Feld­man, Móni­ca Gomery, Eri­ka Meitner, and Yetzirah founder Jessica Jacobs

November 12
*ONLINE: Yetzirah Reading Series: November 12 (Shadow/Light) Maya Bernstein, Jacqueline Osherow, Yehoshua November

October 11,18, 25
*ONLINE: Yetzirah Workshop: “Telling the Soul’s Stories: Spiritual Anecdote and Autobiography” with Joy Ladin

October 15
IN PERSON, RIVER FOREST ILLINOIS: Words of Light: A Jewish Poetry Panel with poets Dina Elenbogen, Hila Ratzabi, and Jamie Wendt. West Suburban Temple Har Zion, 1040 North Harlem Avenue, River Forest, IL 60305

*ONLINE: Yetzirah Book Club: Bert Meyers: On the Life and Work of an American Master, eds. Adele Elise Williams & Dana Levin

October 22
*ONLINE: Yetzirah Reading Series: October 8 (Poet-Translators) Boris Dralyuk, Daniel Kraft, Mira Rosenthal

September 10
*ONLINE: Yetzirah Reading Series: September 10 (Self-Reflection) Hilda Raz, Grace Schulman, Alan Shapiro

September 7
ONLINE & IN-PERSON, Santa Fe, NM:  Jewish Poetry Salon with Lauren Camp, Elizabeth Jacobson, Maia H. Katz, Michelle Laflamme-Childs, Hilda Raz, and Miriam Sagan. Collected Works Bookstore & Coffeehouse, 202 Galisteo St., Santa Fe, NM 87501

June 20-25
*ASHEVILLE, NC, with READINGS IN-PERSON & ONLINE:
Yetzirah’s 2023 Summer Conference, with faculty Rodger Kamenetz, Ilya Kaminsky, Jaqueline Osherow, and keynote Alicia Ostriker. 

May 25
IN-PERSON, NEWTON, MA: A Jewish Poetry Salon in Celebration of Shavuot with Gail Mazur, Lloyd Schwartz, and Ron Slate, hosted and co-sponsored Temple Reyim, Hebrew College, JARTS, Jewish Women’s Archive, Kesher Newton, Keshet, Mayyim Hayyim, Massachusetts Board of Rabbis, RUACH, and Zamir Chorale of Boston. Newton’s New Jewish Collaborative Campus, Newton, MA

April 26
IN-PERSON, PHILADELPHIA, PA: 12:30-2 PM, A reading and discussion with Philly poets Maya Pindyck, Harriet Levin Millan, Amy Small-McKinney, and Leah Falk, hosted by Drexel University’s Certificate Program in Writing and Publishing and Drexel Hillel, admission free and open to all, Roberta Rosen Sheller Chapel, Pearlman Center, Hillel Drexel, Philadelphia, PA

April 9
*ONLINE: Yetzirah Reading Series: (Liberation/Freedom) Janlori Goldman, Dana Levin, Gail Newman, Yerra Sugarman

March 19
*ONLINE: Yetzirah Reading Series: (A Translation Event, co-sponsored by the Yiddish Book Center) Featuring Jennifer Kronovet & Aviya Kushner, with Merle Bachman & Maia Evrona  

March 8-11: AWP Conference, Seattle, WA
*Wednesday-Saturday, March 8-11: Yetzirah will share table T1211 with the The Laurel Review. Stop by and say hello!

Thursday, March 9: AWP Panel, “Poetic Experiments: Incorporating Play into Writing and Teaching,” with Yetzirah’s Vice President Jehanne Dubrow, and Kimberly Grey, Felicia Zamora, Phillip B. Williams, and Julie Carr.

*ONLINE & IN-PERSON: Thursday, March 9: “Contemporary Jewish Poets,” AWP Offsite Reading, co-sponsored by Ayin Press, with Dan Alter, Lauren CampChanda FeldmanErika MeitnerAlicia Ostriker, Eden Pearlsteinand Alicia Jo Rabins. Co-Hosted by Tom Haviv and Jessica Jacobs. Temple De Hirsch Sinai, Seattle, WA 

*Friday, March 10: AWP Panel, “Not For Myself Alone: Creating and Sustaining Jewish Literary Communities,” with Jessica Jacobs (Yetzirah), Becca Kantor (Jewish Book Council), Madeline (Mindl) Cohen (Yiddish Book Center), Tom Haviv (Ayin Press), and Alicia Ostriker (Lillith Magazine).

Friday, March 10: 5:30-5:45 pm PT. Sabbath in Seattle, hosted by Alicia Jo Rabins and Jessica Jacobs. If you’re at AWP, join us for challah, grape juice, and a candle lighting in the Sheraton Grand Seattle.

Saturday, March 11: Book signing with Yetzirah’s Secretary Yerra Sugarman, along with James Allen Hall and Glenis Redmond. Four Way Books

February 12, 2023
*ONLINE: Yetzirah Reading Series: (Wildness) Julia Kolchinsky Dasbach, Rodger Kamenetz, Jason Schneiderman

February 9, 2023
*NEW YORK, NY: Yetzirah’s first in-person poetry salon, hosted by Yetzirah’s Secretary Yerra Sugarman, with featured readers Alicia Ostriker, Sean Singer, and Lynn Melnick

February 8, 2023
*NEW YORK, NY & ONLINE: A reading & conversation with Joy Ladin, introduced by Jessica Jacobs, at the Jewish Theological Seminary, co-sponsored by JTS & Yetzirah 

January 29, 2023
*ONLINE: Optional informational session about applying for a fellowship to Yetzirah’s summer conference 

January 15, 2023
*ONLINE: Yetzirah Reading Series: (Trees/Nature) Rebecca Aronson, Rachel Hadas, Maya Pindyck
ASHEVILLE, NC: Yetzirah Reading Series Watch Party, Congregation Beth Israel

January 12, 2023
ONLINE: JCC Buffalo—Jewish Poetry Reading Series. Reading with Joy Ladin, Jared Harel, and Jessica Jacobs (who read & talked about Yetzirah).

2022 Events

November 13, 2022
*ONLINE: Yetzirah Reading Series: November 13 (101 Jewish Poems for the New Millennium anthology event) Nancy Naomi Carlson & Matthew Silverman (editors), Jeffrey Levine, Alan Michael Parker, Amy Small-McKinney, Katherine Smith
October 9, 2022
*ONLINE: Yetzirah Reading Series: October 9 (Harvest/Fruition/Fullness) Judith Baumel, David Ebenbach, Erika Meitner, Victoria Redel
September 11, 2022
*ONLINE: Yetzirah Reading Series: September 11 (Self-Reflection) Dan Alter, Rosebud Ben-Oni, Joy Ladin, Sean Singer