new update Dear Safranim Purim is here (and by the time this posts... has passed).. the Full Moon is waning, and March 22 approaches. It is the release date for IT GETS BETTER by Dan Savage and his husband, Terry Miller (Dutton/Penguin, March 22, 2011)
I would say that 10% of the essay in this book are by Jewish writers. Impressive. No? I think the book will be of special interest to Jewish librarians and their patrons You are acutely aware of the pain and bullying and confusion among gay, lesbian, different and perceived to be different teens in your communities. Maybe you have directed students and families and parents to those YouTube videos that are part of the Trevor Project and It Gets Better. Now, a collection of them have been compiled into this book of transcribed essays and original writings Readings are scheduled in NYC on March 22 Chicago on March 23 Los Angeles / West Hollywood on March 24 San Francisco on March 29 as well as Seattle IT GETS BETTER. Coming Out, Overcoming Bullying, and Creating a Life Worth Living Edited by Dan Savage and Terry Miller March 22, 2011, Dutton Penguin When they started the video project, they expected 100 to be uploaded. There are now over 10,000. They uploaded their first video on September 22, 2010 Within 24 hours, someone uploaded a second video In three days, there were several hundred videos At the end of the week, there were 1,000 uploaded videos Within four weeks the White House called: President Obama has a video to submit Dan Savage's publisher and editor, Penguin and Dutton, decided to turn a selection of transcribed videos and other expanded essays, about 110 in all, with additional resource information, into a book. Of the 110+ essays, I noticed the Jewish names. (hehe... sorry to be parochial) The book features contributions by President Barack Obama, David Sedaris, Kate Clinton, Murray Hill, Bishop Gene Robinson, Ellen Degeneres, Tim Gunn, UK PM David Cameron, financial advisor Suze Orman, Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, Chaz Bono, Bruce Ortiz, PereZ Hilton, Alex Orue and many more. = = = = = = = = There are also several Jews who were selected to include essays. They include Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum, the senior rabbi at Congregation CBST in Manhattan; Jules Skloot, the Brooklyn based dancer and choreographer, graduate of Hampshire and Sarah Lawrence, and member of Jews with Tattoos; Dr. David Rosen in Ottawa, who writes with his partner, Sean B Lane; Six gay Orthodox Jewish young men have a group essay in which they discuss life growing up in Orthodox and Haredi and Hasidic homes and Jewish summer camps, their survival in these institutions, and their current, much more happy and productive lives. They have links to their website for gay Orthodox youth Barbara Gaines, 53, the Executive Producer of the Late Show with David Letterman writes of growing up on Long Island, playing clarinet in the school band, and attempting suicide after college. But if she had died in 1979, she would have missed out on the rest of a fabulous life, her partner, their 4 year old, and her life at the CBST synagogue. Adam Roberts, a Jewish graduate of Emory and star of the Food Network and the Amateur gourmet flogger (food blogger) site writes a hilarious essay on cooking a Friday night meal for his parents, his partner, and his partner's parents. In between recipes and tangential asides on food, he discusses being bullied in school, and finding how to express himself in a comedy troupe in college. As he says, high school is like a cold depressing tv dinner, but it gets better and you might end up as a plated dish of braised (braised!!) shirt ribs with polenta (*not kosher) There is also essays by Michael Feinstein, a piano player (hehe) Others include: Suze Orman, 60, a financial advisor and proud lesbian who says life is "NOT EASY, but it is all worth the struggle!" (she is very demonstrative on video and in print) Andy Cohen, Executive Vice President of Bravo, the cable channel, and head of original programming who writes of growing up in St Louis and wondering if he would be Charles Nelson Reilly and Paul Lynde; finding himself during a year abroad at college; and being himself for the rest of his life. Jessica Leshnoff writes about growing up and thinking she was a bad person and a bad Jew, a spiral of self-loathing, that she overcame. Jake Kleinman, who is finishing Med school at Tulane, and will enter a Pediatrician residency program in New Orleans writes about moving from being scared to being proud. Sara Sperling (yes, she is Jewish too) write on life as a sorority sister, and the book closes with an essay by Kate Bornstein. = = = = = = = I hope you find it as interesting a read for yourself and your library patrons, as much as I did. Larry Mark, NYC MyJewishBooks.com and oFrah's Jewish Book Club JewishFilm.com and SchmoozeDance Jewish Film Fest Contributor to Jewlicious.com Tzedaka.org --- Messages and opinions expressed on Hasafran are those of the individual author and are not necessarily endorsed by the Association of Jewish Libraries (AJL) =========================================================== Submissions for Ha-Safran, send to: [email protected] SUBscribing, SIGNOFF commands send to: Listproc @ lists.acs.ohio-state.edu Questions, problems, complaints, compliments;-) send to: galron.1 @ osu.edu Ha-Safran Archives: Current: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.acs.ohio-state.edu/maillist.html History: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.acs.ohio-state.edu/history.html AJL HomePage http://www.JewishLibraries.org
