Thoughts on Creative Writing, Jewish Community and BCI

by Daniel E. Levenson, ALM

July 22, 2010

For the past three and a half weeks I have been out in the desert where I had a chance to do some  thinking, writing, teaching and learning. I have always found inspiration in arid places, whether hiking in the Negev in southern Israel or exploring the American southwest. This time I was lucky enough to spend some time getting to know a new desert environment while teaching a creative writing workshop at the Marylin and Sigi Ziering Brandeis Collegiate Institute in southern California. BCI, as it is popularly known, is a program that brings Jewish young adults from communities around the world to spend 26 days together to explore Jewish ideas, strengthen their sense of Jewish identity and learn about themselves through participation in daily arts workshops. The creative writing workshop I offered was just one option the participants could choose, with opportunities to study theater, music, 2-D art, 3-D art and dance available as well. Since I spend so much time looking for ways to bridge gaps and start conversations within the Jewish community across denominational, geographic and political lines, BCI was a fantastic place for me to meet Jews from around the world and to be a part of a larger conversation about what it means to be a Jew today.

With Jews from Reform to Orthodox and hailing from a diverse collection of nations beyond the United States, including Morocco, India and Surinam, there was no shortage of differing opinions and views on Jewish topics. Within the writing workshop I had participants from across the country as well as Germany, Russia and Argentina, each of which brought something unique to both their writing and workshop discussions. They reminded me of the way that writing can become a powerful tool for self-exploration and deep thinking, and as I watched their work change and evolve throughout the course of our time together, I was impressed with their willingness to tackle difficult topics within Judaism as well as their own lives.

As I look ahead to the work of the New Vilna Review in the coming months and I think about my work as a writer and teacher, I will try to hold this idea in mind, that the process of writing is as much about engaging ourselves in difficult conversations as it is about creating a finished product. This is a valuable idea, I think, not only when it comes to creative writing, but in terms of how we create and shape dialogue within the Jewish community when it comes to matters of Jewish identity.

Copyright Daniel E. Levenson 2010.