The Jewish Poetry Project of Ben Yehuda Press
All kinds of poems. All kinds of Jews.
Discover Jewish poetry for a new generation.
People need poetry. Jewish people need Jewish poetry. Not only Jewish poetry, God forbid — we would never part with our Robert Frost or Wendell Berry or Mary Oliver or the rest of our shelf — but we also need poetry that expresses our specific culture and language. "Poetry," Frost wrote, "is what gets lost in translation." So too, translated yiddishkeit isn't quite the same. Hence, Jewish poetry. At Ben Yehuda Press, we publish poems (and other genres) whose Jewishness is integral.
Our Jewish umbrella casts a very wide shadow. Some of the poets we publish are intoxicated by God. Others look for spirituality in a world without God. Some allude to the Bible, others to Jewish experience. Ben Yehuda Press believes there is no one true Judaism, no one authentic Jewish voice. It is the multiplicity that defines our community, and our Judaism, and, optionally, our God.
The quality and reach of our poets continues to grow. King of the Jews by Matthew Lippman, a response to the Oct 7th attacks, was a finalist in the 75th Annual Jewish Book Awards for Poetry.
But we need your help, to prove that there is a community of readers open to these new Jewish voices, and to help us grow that community. Your tax-deductible donation helps support our goal of releasing 4 new books of Jewish Poetry next year.
Thank you for your generosity and support!
