This is our history, our memory
“This is our history, our memory. When one whispers the names and professions of the people who lived here, one can no longer forget.”
A project called “Vardai” (“Names”) is giving Lithuanians an opportunity to touch the nearly-vanished Jewish world, to remember, to mourn, and to connect.
Facing History in Lithuania, my article in Na’amat magazine, tells the story of how Lithuanians are engaging with Jewish heritage through educational curricula, museum exhibitions, plaques, and cultural events. These initiatives help people reflect on questions like these:
– What do we expect of ordinary people in extraordinary times? What should we expect?
– Can we honor our diverse heritages without perpetuating the fears and hatreds of the past?
– What do we gain, and what do we lose, when we seek to overcome mutual suspicions and reach out to the Other?
– What would I have done? What could I have done? And what will I do?
I’ll be speaking about how Lithuania is encountering the Jewish past at the Association for the Advancement of Baltic Studies conference in Philadelphia, May 26-28, 2016.
Building a Bridge
Rachel Mines, a teacher and translator in Vancouver, BC, kindly shared with me the story of her visit to the Lithuanian town of Skuodas (Shkud in Yiddish), where she participated in a day of remembrance for the Jewish community destroyed in the Holocaust.
“I feel that I’m starting to rebuild a bridge to my personal and family past: one that I, like many children of Holocaust survivors, never had until recently. I’m also excited to be part of an ongoing memorialization project, one that affirms the educational value of history, no matter how tragic, and that attempts to honour, in a small way, our friends and families of Shkud.”
Read more about Rachel’s journey here.
New Book
Master storyteller Abraham Karpinowitz brings to life the colorful characters of prewar Vilnius. First-ever translation by Helen Mintz.
Jewish Roots
Memorial books in English and Yiddish can be obtained from the Yiddish Book Center in Amherst, MA.
The book about Rokiskis, my family’s home town in Lithuania, tells of a holiday evening one hundred years ago: “All the lamps were glowing. The table was full of various dishes. The dancing began. The revelry lasted late into the night….”
The Jewish Roots page on my website offers information about researching Lithuanian archives, finding a tour guide, translating old letters, and learning Yiddish.
Tips of the Trade for Writers:
Intimate Ethnography
Family memories: The rewards and challenges of writing about people you know, people you love.
Interviews
Listen to an interview about “We Are Here” on the Marc Steiner Show from Baltimore, MD.
Read Deborah Kalb’s interview about the beginnings of “We Are Here”: “A story began to unfold, a story with many facets…”
Book Tour
In the coming months I’ll be speaking in the Washington, DC, area and in Philadelphia, PA.
“We Are Here” is available in paperback, in e-book format, and in audio format.
Audiobook narrated by Suzanne Toren. Listen here.
Lithuanian edition now available!
“Mes esame cia,” the Lithuanian edition of my book, is now available in hardback and e-book formats.
For Book Clubs and Teachers
I enjoy meeting with book clubs and classes either in person or via Skype. Take a look at questions to facilitate discussion.
Enjoy a behind-the-scenes look at the journey that inspired my book.
Help Spread the Word
“We Are Here” is now in its third printing. Please share your comments on amazon and/or Goodreads.
So far, 597 libraries carry “We Are Here.” Ask for it at your local library. Share this newsletter:
Copyright © 2015 Ellen Cassedy, All rights reserved.
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Ellen Cassedy
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