ANN ARBOR—The fall issue of the University of Michigan’s Michigan Quarterly Review (MQR) is now available for purchase. The issue is the first of two special editions devoted to the theme of Jewish in America. The husband and wife team of Jonathan Freedman, professor of English, and Sara Blair, associate professor of English, serve as guest editors for the two issues. "People have written volumes about the Jewish experience in America for more than a century, but it seems just as complex now as it has ever been — and maybe more so," Freedman says "Writings for this issue have been compiled to address an issue that is very much alive for readers at large: What is this thing we call American? How has the presence of this particular community, the Jewish community, shaped and created some of the tensions we are experiencing today," Blair says. The flood of material submitted, which led to the continuation into the winter issue, is a testament to the magnitude of the subject. Not all submissions were from people who identified themselves as Jewish, Blair says. "MQR is a forum where academics can represent that experience of Jewish in America in its full complexities," Freedman says. Ruth Behar discusses her documentary, "Adio Kerida," in her essay "While Waiting for the Ferry to Cuba: Afterthoughts about Adio Kerida." Behar’s documentary focuses on Cuba’s Sephardic Jews in an attempt to bring the diversity of the Jewish experience to light. Her essay reveals the process she went through, emotionally and logistically, to create "Adio Kerida." Behar, a professor of anthropology at U-M, is the recipient of MacArthur and Guggenheim fellowships and has written several books, including "Translated Woman: Crossing the Border with Esperanza’s Story," and "The Vulnerable Observer: Anthropology that Breaks Your Heart." Her documentary "Adio Kerida," is being distributed by Women Make Movies. Sharon Pomerantz contributes her short fiction entitled, "Playing the Angles," a story that ties together themes of coming of age, familial relationships and life in New York City. Pomerantz, an English lecturer at U-M, is also a graduate of the U-M Master of Fine Arts program. Her short fiction has appeared in "The Black Warrior Review," "The Colorado Review," "The Massachusetts Review," and the anthology, "Nice Jewish Girls: Growing up in America." Laurence Goldstein reviews four books in his essay, "Arguing (What Else?) About Jewish-American Poetry," that are relevant to the topic of Jewish American poetry: "Telling and Remembering: A Century of American Jewish Poetry," "Not One of Them in Place: Modern Poetry and Jewish American Identity," "Jewish American Poetry: Poems, Commentary, and Reflections," and "Meaning & Memory: Interviews with 14 Jewish Poets," Goldstein, and professor of English at U-M, is the editor of MQR. His most recent publications are a book entitled, "The American Poet at the Movies: A Critical History," and a volume of poems entitled, "Cold Reading." Four U-M faculty members, Nancy Reisman, a visiting associate professor of English and first holder of the newly endowed visiting chair, Richard Hilles, an English lecturer, Nicholas Delbanco, professor of English, and Illana Blumberg, a visiting assistant professor of English, will contribute their work to the special winter issue of MQR. MQR is published quarterly; each volume of this special issue sells for $9, and both are available as part of a year’s subscription at $25. Contact MQR at (734) 764-9265, e-mail [email protected], or write to 3032 Rackham Building, Ann Arbor, MI. 48109-1070, for more details.

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