Poetry

Amy Losak spent most of her life in Queens, New York, and now
lives in New Jersey. She is a healthcare public relations consultant.
Her mother, Sydell Rosenberg, was a teacher and published writer,
especially poetry—primarily haiku and related forms. Syd was a
charter member of the Haiku Society of America in 1968. Amy is a
member today.

Syd, who died in 1996, contributed to the literary life of her home
borough and New York City. Her “city haiku” and other poems were
published in leading journals, classic anthologies (such as The Haiku Anthology and The Haiku How to Write, Share, and
Teach Haiku), and other media dedicated to this luminous form. In
1994, Syd’s senryu was featured in the New York public arts project, Haiku on 42nd Street, in which old theater marquees in Times Square were transformed into “frames” for short poems.

This collection of books featuring Jewish main characters is decidedly non-comprehensive. As we come across books that are described as having Jewish main characters, we add them to this database. The creators of the Jewish Genre Reading Challenge have not read all (or even most) of the books in this database. We have gathered information from many sources and not all may be accurate. Inclusion of a book in our database does not imply endorsement or approval. There is always the possibility that antisemitism may be present in a book, either written into a character's experience or through malicious or ignorant caricature or stereotypical portrayal of Jewish characters and culture. Please take care of yourselves as you read.

 

PLEASE let us know if you encounter a book in this database that does not have a Jewish main character, if you have corrections or additions for a book's genre categories, or if you have any other concerns about the inclusion of a particular book in this database.