My new book, Souls in the Garden: Poems About Jewish Spain, is now in print after almost twenty years of traveling, researching, and writing. The poems were inspired by my two trips to Spain, in search of voices and traces of medieval and modern Jewish Spain. The voices encountered include those of poets (e.g., Yehuda Halevi and Qasmuna), philosophers (e.g., Maimonides), mystics (e.g., Moses de Leon), religious figures (e.g., St Teresa of Avila), royalty (e.g., Queen Isabella), and intriguing personalities (e.g., The Jewess Who Was Pushed from a Cliff)—men and women, mostly Jewish but also Christian and Muslim. Aside from the author of Souls, all of these people obviously are dead, but though dead, their souls are still expressing themselves, to us, to one another, to friends and enemies, to God, in anger, sorrow, nostalgia, cynicism, bitterness, wistfulness, and more—the gamut of human emotions. These are the souls in the garden, an image taken from the wonderful Zohar: The Book of Splendor, the most important book of Jewish mysticism. Although the period and setting are mostly medieval Spain, unfortunately the themes of persecution, lament, xenophobia, and expulsion are as relevant today as they were in the past. Additionally, the traumas of the period have been passed down over the years to the descendants of Spanish and Portuguese Jews, many of whom are living in the American Southwest. The specs, pre-reviews, a .pdf, and ordering information can be found on the following page of my web site: http://henryrasof.com/1277-2/books/souls-in-the-garden/ <http://henryrasof.com/1277-2/books/souls-in-the-garden/> . Thank you! Shalom and best wishes Henry Rasof
. Thank you! Shalom and best wishes Henry Rasof
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