tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26622588Wed, 20 May 2026 07:21:21 +0000IsraelLiteratureJewish JournalMemoryResponsibilityacademia#ABAR#anti-bias#antibias#racismComedyHolocaustJudaismLoveMLAReview#CRT#CriticalRaceTheory#TeachingTolerance#anti-racist#antiracist#antisemitism#metoo#woke9/11Academic BoycottBDSBDSFailBlanchotBooksCardozoDisasterDyingEtgar KeretEthical ResponsibilityGerman filmJeff RossJellyfishJewishJewish LiteratureLance DuerfahrdLanguageLas VegasLevinasMLA17MLABoycott17MidrashNALSPinaPurdue UniversityRilkeRussian JewsSecretsShavuotShrayerSoloveitchikSon of SaulSoviet JewsTalmudTranstromerTraumaWim Wendersanti-semitismanti-zionismavital ronellcary nelsoncoronaviruscovidcovid-19deathdementiadogsfamilyfearhomehumorintersectionalitylaughterlossmass shootingmeaningmourningneighborspassoverpesachpowersexual harassmentstoriestruthThere is no stop, there is no interval between dreaming and waking. In this sense, it is possible to say: never, dreamer, can you awake . . . -- Maurice Blanchothttp://strangledsleep.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (Monica)Blogger247125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26622588.post-3364313560871118822Tue, 15 Feb 2022 12:40:00 +00002022-02-15T04:40:11.846-08:00 In America, our hatred for others has grown exponentially over the past two years. We are especially intolerant of those who think differently from us, who have different ideas about what is right and just. But perhaps no other topic has illuminated this vitriol as the the question of vaccines and whether they're safe. Many on the left despise the unvaccinated, who they call "anti-vaxxers,"http://strangledsleep.blogspot.com/2022/02/the-progressive-lefts-cruelty-toward.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Monica)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26622588.post-204191565322925340Sat, 24 Apr 2021 00:45:00 +00002021-04-23T17:45:18.347-07:00 I wrote a piece for Newsweek about how fashionable it is to talk about racism as if it's something we are born with, something that is endemic to skin color. Some of the most popular writers--think anti-racism and white fragility--seem to suggest that for white or light-skinned people, racism is something that they will always uphold whether they want to or not, simply because they were http://strangledsleep.blogspot.com/2021/04/racism-and-individual-responsibility.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Monica)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26622588.post-7485827519012730718Thu, 04 Mar 2021 22:27:00 +00002021-03-04T14:28:02.415-08:00#ABAR#anti-bias#antibias#CriticalRaceTheory#CRT#racism"Outrage is vital. But if not carefully calibrated, moral outrage can quickly descend into something less moral and increasingly unethical."Discussions of Critical Race Theory are all over social media the past few months. Some see it as the greatest of all evils, while others think it's the only way to analyze every societal problem. In both cases, polarizing perspectives are shaped more by http://strangledsleep.blogspot.com/2021/03/critical-race-theory-should-not-have.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Monica)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26622588.post-5505256620447138993Sat, 27 Feb 2021 20:54:00 +00002021-02-27T12:54:24.505-08:00 Efforts to support diversity and inclusion are some of the most important work we can undertake. But it has to be done right or it will backfire and cause immeasurable harm to all communities, especially those it claims to help. Especially when "social justice" has a political agenda, the outcome is often division and resentment rather than community and meaningful dialogue.In schools, the http://strangledsleep.blogspot.com/2021/02/diversity-equity-inclusion-lets-do-it.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Monica)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26622588.post-8398377681735270858Sat, 02 Jan 2021 22:41:00 +00002021-01-02T14:47:25.870-08:00#ABAR#anti-bias#anti-racist#antibias#antiracist#antisemitism#racism#TeachingTolerance#wokeOver the past six months we've seen an exponential increase in people calling themselves experts in "anti-bias" and "anti-racism" training. Schools and businesses have rushed to bring in these facilitators not necessarily to fix something that is wrong in the culture of the school or business, but to signal that they are "anti-racist," the buzzy phrase made popular by the work of Ibram X. Kendi (http://strangledsleep.blogspot.com/2021/01/the-bias-of-anti-bias-training.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Monica)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26622588.post-6543895944818104450Tue, 24 Nov 2020 20:22:00 +00002020-11-24T12:22:06.214-08:00 The pandemic has taught us a variety of things. While many people claim that it has taught them "what really matters" and the value of spending time with family, I actually think it has shown us just how important material things are. Here's my piece on why they matter in general, and why they are especially important in this collective moment.http://strangledsleep.blogspot.com/2020/11/material-things-matter.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Monica)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26622588.post-5977316614671324752Mon, 24 Aug 2020 21:12:00 +00002020-08-24T14:12:23.840-07:00 For the past few months I've been agonizing about what I see as a doubling down from people on both sides of the political spectrum. People's certainty when it comes to everything has increased, which is troubling to me given that our current social and political climate is anything but conducive to that kind of mindset. If anything, now is the time to question everything, to think outside http://strangledsleep.blogspot.com/2020/08/the-end-of-moral-certainty.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Monica)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26622588.post-6651366682102052741Fri, 15 May 2020 06:14:00 +00002020-05-14T23:14:29.446-07:00Comedycoronaviruscovidcovid-19humorlaughter I can tell you that, no, laughter probably isn't the key to surviving a pandemic. But it's certainly one of the things that will help us get through it without completely and utterly dying inside. I wrote the cover story for a recent issue of The Jewish Journal about why laughter is so important right now. Really, don't stop laughing. Except when it's time to cry.http://strangledsleep.blogspot.com/2020/05/is-laughter-key-to-surviving-pandemic.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Monica)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26622588.post-5023541513152648415Thu, 14 Nov 2019 19:40:00 +00002019-11-14T11:40:48.384-08:00 My father died a little over a month ago, on Yom Kippur. They say to write what you know, and what I know now, at least for the time being, is grief. So I wrote a piece about grieving and loss and all the things they never tell you about it. You can read it here at the Jewish Journal. Above is a photo of my husband and I, and some of our friends and family, laughing and toasting as my dad http://strangledsleep.blogspot.com/2019/11/the-great-lie.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Monica)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26622588.post-7717516603233062982Mon, 12 Aug 2019 07:54:00 +00002019-08-12T00:54:04.456-07:00academiaanti-semitismanti-zionismcary nelsonintersectionalityIsrael So I wrote this thing about intersectionality, BDS, and anti-Semitism over at the Jewish Journal of Los Angeles. It's actually the cover story of the issue this week. It was probably the most difficult thing I've ever written--even more difficult than my dissertation, or my book on trauma (and by the way, I mean, check out that price--what a steal!). I have a lot of opinions about the http://strangledsleep.blogspot.com/2019/08/intersectionality-and-anti-semitism.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Monica)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26622588.post-6286963853270977835Mon, 12 Aug 2019 07:43:00 +00002019-08-12T00:43:55.441-07:00I wrote a review of Ruby Namdar's brilliant novel The Ruined House over at the Jewish Journal. Read it here!http://strangledsleep.blogspot.com/2019/08/descent-into-trauma-madness-and-meaning.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Monica)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26622588.post-8044093799779973085Wed, 13 Mar 2019 19:13:00 +00002019-03-13T12:14:32.326-07:00People always say that having kids teaches you things. I think it would be more accurate to say that having a child forces you to learn or realize things. It's a subtle but important difference, and honestly I'm forced to learn things all the time in this regard. Here's my piece on one lesson I learned from my son on the importance of community (at the Jewish Journal).http://strangledsleep.blogspot.com/2019/03/the-power-of-community.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Monica)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26622588.post-4131725138278880453Sat, 09 Feb 2019 00:23:00 +00002019-02-08T16:23:42.178-08:00I was recently asked to review David Shrayer-Petrov's novel Doctor Levitin for the Los Angeles Review of Books. The novel was written secretly in Russia during Shrayer-Petrov's time as a refusenik, and has only now been translated into English. Read the review here! http://strangledsleep.blogspot.com/2019/02/little-more-than-pariahs-on-david.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Monica)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26622588.post-3443237093659358424Mon, 24 Sep 2018 04:36:00 +00002018-09-23T21:36:16.969-07:00academiaavital ronellJewish JournalLance DuerfahrdpowerPurdue UniversityI wrote a piece on power in academia for the Jewish Journal as a response to the Avital Ronell scandal (and the equally offensive defense of her actions by celebrity scholars like Judith Butler and others). The original piece was 800 words over the length limit, and I still was not finished saying what needed to be said. But brevity rules in the world of soundbite journalism. At any rate, you canhttp://strangledsleep.blogspot.com/2018/09/power-in-academia.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Monica)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26622588.post-4566707461522090563Fri, 24 Aug 2018 06:37:00 +00002018-08-23T23:37:46.057-07:00Upon hearing about his death, I wrote a piece about Claude Lanzmann. I didn't realize it was going to be called an obituary, but here it is. His film Shoah was one of the most important works with regard to my own thinking about what it means to talk about trauma in the most ethical and authentic way. I once taught a college freshman writing class in which I had the students watch all http://strangledsleep.blogspot.com/2018/08/making-absence-visible-remembering.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Monica)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26622588.post-7288781980708142226Fri, 24 Aug 2018 06:33:00 +00002018-08-23T23:33:03.160-07:00My tribute to Philip Roth, Literary King, over at the Jewish Journal.http://strangledsleep.blogspot.com/2018/08/philip-roth-literary-king-of-jews.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Monica)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26622588.post-4437697267394657879Sat, 24 Mar 2018 00:06:00 +00002018-03-23T17:06:46.734-07:00Jewish JournalReviewRussian JewsShrayerSoviet JewsI recently read and reviewed Maxim Shrayer's new book, With or Without You: The Prospect for Jews in Today's Russia, for the Jewish Journal of Los Angeles. You can read it here. It's a really interesting study, particularly because ever since the success of the Free Soviet Jewry movement of the 1960-1980s, we have heard less and less about the situation of Jews remaining in Russia. I think we http://strangledsleep.blogspot.com/2018/03/there-are-still-jews-in-russia.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Monica)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26622588.post-8966463152810196735Mon, 18 Dec 2017 16:58:00 +00002017-12-18T08:58:37.732-08:00 The great news is that my book is out! You can see it here: The Midrashic Impulse and the Contemporary Literary Response to Trauma. The not so good news is that the book was printed with the the wrong content inside. Instead of a book about midrash and trauma it's a book (someone else's!) about the HBO series True Detective. Hilarious if it wasn't such a terrible printing error. So now we http://strangledsleep.blogspot.com/2017/12/the-midrashic-impulse.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Monica)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26622588.post-7434904630540761050Wed, 22 Nov 2017 18:01:00 +00002017-11-22T10:01:25.404-08:00 Last week I attended the Jewish American and Holocaust Literature Symposium in Miami. It's one of my favorite conferences, and I've been attending since 2004. This year one of the keynote speakers was Jewish-Guatemalan writer Eduardo Halfon, whose work I hadn't yet read, but have since been devouring.  Here's my piece on him over at the Jewish Journal.http://strangledsleep.blogspot.com/2017/11/the-power-of-story.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Monica)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26622588.post-8940094680393005055Fri, 27 Oct 2017 17:38:00 +00002017-10-27T10:41:19.383-07:00#metooacademiasexual harassmentstoriesI experienced a deluge of ambiguous emotions as my Facebook newsfeed was recently filled with women's #MeToo stories and accounts of victimization. I was deeply moved and astounded by so many of the stories. I felt an initial urge to be part of this mass movement of voices, but it was an impulse that quickly retreated back into my place of observation. Like many things, I wanted to be both insidehttp://strangledsleep.blogspot.com/2017/10/speaking-from-margins-me-too.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Monica)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26622588.post-5712690150040797794Thu, 26 Oct 2017 16:52:00 +00002017-10-26T09:52:24.467-07:00Las Vegasmass shootingtruthA couple of weeks ago in the wake of the Las Vegas shooting, I started thinking about how quick we are to string a few "facts" together in an effort to create a story. I get it--we need to do this because we have a deep need to understand why and how things happen. But it also occurred to me that sometimes focusing entirely on a few so-called facts allow us to ignore what we don't yet know. I http://strangledsleep.blogspot.com/2017/10/on-not-forgetting-about-what-we-dont.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Monica)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26622588.post-7007903259082943870Thu, 26 Oct 2017 16:47:00 +00002017-10-26T09:47:00.572-07:00JudaismLiteratureMidrashSoloveitchikTalmudA few weeks ago I wrote a review of William Kolbrener's book The Last Rabbi: Joseph Soloveitchik and Talmudic Tradition at The Jewish Journal. I enjoyed the book immensely, not least because it brought some of my favorite topics together: literature, midrash, trauma, and Judaism. I ended up writing a piece that was hundreds of words too long, so it had to be condensed. But here is the final http://strangledsleep.blogspot.com/2017/10/the-complex-polarity-of-last-rabbi.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Monica)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26622588.post-2583617731333451928Thu, 04 May 2017 04:27:00 +00002017-05-03T21:27:08.366-07:00Etgar KeretIsraelJellyfishJewishLiteratureI interviewed Israeli fiction writer (and scriptwriter!) Etgar Keret last week as part of the cover story package for this week's issue of the Jewish Journal. I'm a big fan of Keret's work and I've also taught it at Pepperdine University and UCLA, so it was super cool to get a chance to chat with him. I thought he was going to be a diva, but he was the opposite--kind, thoughtful, and http://strangledsleep.blogspot.com/2017/05/interview-with-israeli-writer-etgar.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Monica)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26622588.post-1231936211565116465Fri, 24 Mar 2017 23:58:00 +00002017-03-24T17:00:05.304-07:00ComedyHolocaustJeff RossJewish Journal The Last Laugh is a new film that deals with the question of whether one can or should laugh at jokes about the Holocaust. It's a fantastic film, and as part of this piece I wrote for the Jewish Journal, I got to sit down with our friend and comic Jeffrey Ross to get his thoughts on all things comedy and tragedy. Read it here!http://strangledsleep.blogspot.com/2017/03/last-laugh-looking-to-comedy-as-salve.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Monica)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26622588.post-8584229114097745498Thu, 05 Jan 2017 22:27:00 +00002017-01-05T14:27:41.822-08:00BDSBDSFailIsraelMLAMLA17MLABoycott17I am, sadly, not at the MLA conference this year, but have submitted this comment to be distributed at the Town Hall Forum today where the issue will be discussed: I am deeply saddened that we, those who love literature and all its complexities and nuances, are considering/debating an academic boycott of any kind. These kinds of boycotts hurt individuals, though they purport not to. They also http://strangledsleep.blogspot.com/2017/01/modern-language-associations-proposed.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Monica)0