Academic Studies Press would like to wish everyone a very happy and healthy New Year! Though we’re already a few days into 2023, what better time to reflect on what a year 2022 was; we’ve compiled a list of (only a small fraction of!) our favorite reviews, noteworthy media mentions, and more. Here’s to 2023!
2022 Year in Review
Favorite Reviews
The Dreamtime by Mstyslav Chernov (translated by Peter Leonard and Felix Helbing) reviewed in Library Journal“Scene by scene, Chernov vividly describes battles fought in the streets, the bombing and shelling of apartments, and the dreams of those on the front lines, physically and psychologically. … [T]his timely novel from a Ukrainian author excels at examining the connection between reality and dreams and exploring the effects of war on the human psyche.”Stone Dreams by Akram Aylisli (translated by Katherine E. Young) reviewed in the Wall Street Journal“Mr. Aylisli touchingly characterizes Sadai [Sadygly] as a modern-day Don Quixote, a man who is excessively, even perhaps childishly, sensitive to the plight of the outcast. Melancholy infuses his sunlit remembrances. Far from an exhortation, Stone Dreams is a moving, light-fingered tale about the fantasy of empathy, and the dreamers—like Sadai or Mr. Aylisli himself—who sacrifice everything in the effort to give it reality.” — Sam SacksKüchlya: Decembrist Poet by Yuri Tynianov (translated by Anna Kurkina Rush, Peter France, & Christopher Rush) reviewed in the New York Review of Books“Available in English for the first time thanks to Anna Kurkina Rush and her cotranslator Christopher Rush, Küchlya is based on Tynianov’s own extensive research into Küchelbecker, a relatively obscure figure who was arrested for his involvement in the [Decembrist] uprising… A lively, often funny tale offering an intimate, unfamiliar perspective on a legendary period of Russian history, Küchlya proved popular among readers and critics, and it remains a much-loved minor classic… Tynianov offers a thrilling, darkly funny account of the botched uprising.” — Sophie Pinkham“And You Shall Tell Your Son” by Yitzhak (Itzik) Peleg reviewed in the Jerusalem Report“[T]his book caters to Jewish people of all backgrounds and different levels of observance. The book places a great emphasis on the fact that the common denominator that unites us as a Jewish people is our love of the Bible, our tradition, and the preservation of our rich heritage for generations to come. … Peleg conveys in his book that both integration and balance between tradition and renewal will make the Jewish holidays relevant to more and more Jews, both younger and older.” — Joseph ScuttsWords for War edited by Oksana Maksymchuk & Max Rosochinsky in New York Magazine“So, to open a window, I would suggest reading Words for War, an anthology of Ukrainian- and Russian-language poets from Ukraine who wrote about the conflict that has been happening for many years and which Americans have just somehow discovered. And, perhaps reading them we will learn something about ourselves, our limitations, about ways we can understand the world in which we live.” – Ilya KaminskyCan “The Whole World” Be Wrong? by Richard Landes reviewed in Quillette“(…) Landes’s new work makes a distinctive and valuable contribution to the large body of existing literature on antisemitism and the global jihad. This is especially evident when he… brings his excellent skills of close reading, textual analysis, and attention to detail to bear on the material. At its core, this is a compelling critique of the various journalists and public figures —especially in France, Britain, and the United States—who managed to be consistently wrong about the facts and their causes.” — Jeffrey HerfWe Are Not Alone by Menachem Kellner reviewed in the Jewish Review of Books“Menachem Kellner has made yet another important contribution to Jewish thought not just in terms of content but also in terms of method. He readily acknowledges that the Jewish tradition speaks with many voices. He recognizes that ample precedent can be found both for the universalism he champions, on the one hand, and for more particularistic … readings of the tradition, on the other. To his credit, Kellner is aware that constructing a worldview out of the sources of Judaism (or of any other religious tradition) inevitably involves some picking and choosing. This has always been the case, but modernity invites us to be self-conscious about it—Kellner accepts that invitation.” – Shai Held
Noteworthy Media
Jewish Broadcasting Service journalist Micah Halpern hosts a fascinating discussion with Ephraim Kholmyansky (legendary Refusenik & author of The Voice of Silence) and Pamela Cohen (a leading activist in the American Soviet Jewry movement).
Howard Mortman discusses his book When Rabbis Bless Congress in a conversation with Brian Lamb, hosted by the National Archives in commemoration of Jewish American Heritage Month.
“War came to Ukraine in 2014. Its poets have been responding to it ever since.” Contributors to Words for Warsuch as Lyuba Yakimchuk, Vasyl Makhno, Boris and Lyudmila Kershonsky, and Oksana Lutsyshyana, read poems and Essays. Aired on BBC Radio 3 – The Essay.
Forbidden Food: the Jews of Spain
BBC World Service
Hélène Jawhara Piñer, author of Sephardi: Cooking the History and Jews, Food, and Spain, joins BBC – The Food Chain host Ruth Alexander to discuss how food ties into the persecution of Jews in Spain during the Inquisition.
Words for War and The White Chalk of Days – Updated Websites
Since the February 24, 2022 invasion of Ukraine, ASP—along with the rest of the world—has been deeply troubled by the situation in Ukraine and continues to express concern for family, friends, authors, and colleagues in the region. Since our founding, our mission has been to increase knowledge within the humanities and social sciences through dialogue, research, and scholarly exchange to help promote understanding and appreciation between cultures. Two volumes that particularly embody that mission are Words for War— edited by Oksana Maksymchuk & Max Rosochinsky to bring together for the first time in any language a collection of Ukrainian poetry about the current war in the Donbas region of Ukraine—and The White Chalk of Days—compiled and edited by Mark Andryczyk to showcase a finely curated selection of Ukrainian poetry, fiction, and essays—both of which were published in 2017 with funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) as part of the project “Contemporary Ukrainian Literature in English Translation.” As such, in 2022, we updated our dedicated websites for two volumes. At these new sites, you can explore both volumes, which do the vital work of capturing the voices of Ukrainian poets and writers and bringing them into English, in their entirety for free. You may also want to explore our burgeoning Ukrainian Studies series.
