Every Day Is Jewish Book Day
Mini-interview #18 with Author Nina B. Lichtenstein
Hi everyone,
I cannot say that all my reading since October 7 has been by Jewish authors or about Jewish topics or both. But a lot of it has, even more than before, and I read plenty before. It’s as if I’d crawled into a safe space between those specific pages, in search of the peace that comes from feeling at home when we as a people have real reason to feel out of sorts.
One morning during Jewish Book Month back in December, I thought, I should really do something more with this. Jewish writers were (and still are) having such a hard time. So I launched a series of mini-interviews on my Facebook page called Every Day Is Jewish Book Day (#everydayisJewishbookday) and posted pretty often over the next few weeks.
It was a chance to feature a variety of Jewish and Israeli authors, to share their experiences and their books at a time when literary spaces continue to ignore (or worse) their voices. Then I decided to keep it going after Jewish Book Month 2024 came to a close.
If you also happen to follow me on Facebook, you’ve likely seen them before. Recently, though, I ran into someone and I was going on and on about the whole thing because frankly, these interviews give me such nachas. She replied, “Well, why aren’t you sharing them on Days of Rest, too? Not everyone is on Facebook.”
I said to myself, Self, why not? It’s a chance to bring more light into the world.
The interview below is the 18th since I launched #everydayisJewishbookday. So it’s auspicious to start sharing them here now. G-d willing, they’ll appear about twice a month in addition to my regularly featured newsletter.
Thanks for following along.
Enjoy.
Love,
Merri
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Meet Nina B. Lichtenstein (PhD, MFA), a native of Oslo, Norway, who holds degrees in Jewish studies, French literature, and creative writing. She is the founder and director of Maine Writers Studio and co-founder/co-director of the literary e-zine In a Flash. The mother of three adult sons, she lives in Maine with her husband. Her memoir, Body: My Life in Parts (Vine Leaves Press) was just released.
1. How did you become a writer and in what ways did that journey connect with your journey to Judaism?
I’ve always turned to writing to metabolize my experiences, though throughout my earlier adult years, I was too busy with academic writing and raising three young kids to do any creative writing. I never kept a journal either.
Writing on Jewish topics was definitely a part of my Jewish journey. My student papers, whatever the discipline, almost always had a Jewish component. But it was in mid-life, when my writing turned toward memoir/personal essays as I went through my divorce, that I discovered my authentic voice. Much like my Jewish identity, the Jewish aspect of that voice continues to evolve with time.
2. You share intimate personal details in your writing. What is the importance of opening up in such a genuine way and how do the people in your life respond?
Writing is an intimate act, and I write to the audience of one, which I believe encourages an intimate reading experience as well. Opening up like this, in writing, also helps me understand my own choices, actions, and reactions. Or inactions. I see my life as a series of relationships, so “my people” are with me in my work. Mostly, they say that I’m brave and that my stories are well-told, entertaining, and moving.
3. How did you land on the unique structure of your memoir, which uses the body and its parts as entry points for your dive into memory?
My first semester MFA mentor said, “Give me more of this!” after I had written a piece about my aching hips. When I graduated, I already had a crappy first draft with 16 body parts as chapters in what became this memoir-in-essays.
4. What does it mean to build a writing community?
Community building is deeply gratifying and life-sustaining. Once I turned from academia to creative writing, I extended myself online and in person to (re-)build what I lost when I moved north from the dynamic Jewish community in West Hartford, CT, where I lived for 30 years. I founded Maine Writers Studio to create a supportive writing community here. It brings me great joy that writers from all over love the idea of Maine as a creative space, extending our literary “reach” far beyond what I’d imagined.
5. What makes a book a Jewish book? Do you have a favorite?
I’d say the theme or content of the book has to be Jewish, but I also wonder if the writer has to be Jewish, too. I’d love to have this conversation en groupe! I don’t have a favorite book. My taste is too eclectic, and I read in several languages. Too much wonderful literature to point one out! I love great writing and stories told well. On second thought, the Torah is my favorite Jewish book. It's a gift that keeps on giving.
Thanks, Nina, for being here.
To read more about her and her work, check out her website and her Substack, The Viking Jewess and Other Curiosities.