As a cultural activist (kultur-tuer) and grassroots educator, I am involved in an array of ongoing projects related to Yiddish language, literature, community, and culture. In addition to the projects outlined below, I am always interested in developing new formats related to Yiddish culture – often with some link to Berlin, queerness, poetry, and/or larger efforts to reclaim and revitalize the Yiddish language and its literature outside of Hassidic communities.
I am a Yiddish speaker descended from many generations of Yiddish speakers going back to medieval Germany. However, the transmission of the language was interrupted in my family – as in many others – due to the pressures of assimilation in the US, and I reclaimed it as an adult.
Before I turned my focus as an organizer to Yiddish culture, I was involved in Berlin’s independent literary publishing scene as the editor-in-chief of the literary journal SAND.
In that capacity I coordinated a fifteen-person editorial team, obtained funding from the city, traveled to book fairs, and promoted the journal through interviews in the press. I was also involved in many literary events.
SAND: Literature and Art
A Berlin-based, English-language literary and arts journal published twice per year. I served as editor in chief from 2017 to 2021 (nine issues), and as poetry editor from 2015 to 2016 (two issues).
STILL Magazine
A bilingual journal of art and photography based in Berlin and New York. I served as translation editor from 2015 to 2016 (two issues).