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Chapter And Verse

An Ann Arbor woman hosts a conference
to promote a Jewish feminist literary journal.

LYNNE MEREDITH COHN
Special to The Jewish News

T

hree dozen poetry lovers
gathered at Hillel in Ann
Arbor on Sunday, April 26,
for an evening of song,
verse and visual art, feminist style.
The program, which featured
songs in English, Yiddish, Hebrew
and Ladino and the sensuous
Spanish-English poetry of University
of Michigan Professor Ruth Behar,
benefited the internationally circulat-
ed Bridges, a journal for Jewish femi-
nists.
"I think a lot of what Bridges does
is link people who feel kind of isolat-
ed in their communities," said Ruth
Kraut, 34, an editor of the twice-
yearly journal who began working
with Bridges in her mid-20s. For
instance, someone came up to me
[Sunday] and said, 'I came up from
Toledo for this. It was the highlight
of my weekend. I feel like it's a desert
out there.' And I've heard that from
other people."
Bridges is a 9-year-old independent
Jewish feminist magazine that began
as a spinoff of a newsletter produced
by New Jewish Agenda. Jewish femi-
nist poet Adrienne Rich was a
founder of the publication.
Kraut got involved with the jour-
nal "kind of serendipitously. I was
not one of the founding editors; there
was another woman in Ann Arbor
named Laurie White [who] was invit-
ed to join them. She had been on the
New Jewish Agenda Feminist Task
Force, [and] she didn't want to be the
only woman in the Midwest [work-
ing on Bridges]. They asked her if
there was someone she would like to
have join, and she thought of me."
Aside from the energy she devotes
to Bridges, Kraut works as an envi-
ronmental educator at the Ecology
Center in Ann Arbor and investigates
discrimination for the Fair Housing
Center.
Born in Ann Arbor while her
father was getting his doctorate,
Kraut grew up in New York and
attended Oberlin College in Ohio.
She majored in English and environ-

mental studies. At Oberlin, she
"We are here tonight because
served as editor of Nimrod, a Jewish
Bridges needs more visibility," Kraut
magazine with socialist leanings, and
said on Sunday. "The best way is to
was active in the kosher co-op there.
perform pieces from it."
Bridges focuses equally on activism
Performers included Ariella Zeller,
and art. Alongside Yiddish poetry
a U-M graduate student who is work-
(with English translation) are
ing on an ethnographic study of
thoughtful, provocative articles and
elderly Jewish women. She sang four
stories by Jewish women. A recent
songs. Anita Norich, associate profes-
issue included an article by 25-year-
sor of English and Judaic studies at
old Ophira Edut, an Oak
U-M, read poems in
Park native who is part
Yiddish and in translation.
Israeli, about being raised
Lauren Isenberg Zinn, an
in a working class family
Ann
Arbor artist, showed
Ruth Kraut, an edi-
in suburban Detroit. Edut for of Bridge s, reads
some of her work with
read her punchy piece at
thread, cloth and paint.
at the April 26 con-
the Sunday program.
Others were Ophira Edut
ference.

Photos by John M. Dische r

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