"write what you know )) A better phrasing is attributed to Grace Paley, who advised one writer to write what you don't know about what you know — in other words, begin with a familiar situation and then work to uncover the truth -of that situ- ation that you never knew before. How does this actually work? Say, for instance, you want to write about the first wedding you ever attended. Let's assume you've got some clear memories — the blue chiffon dress you wore, which was a hand-me-down from your cousin Arlene; how you felt sick after the cocktail hour because you'd unwit- tingly eaten Gorgonzola cheese; and how you heard that day that the bride, your oldest cousin, had decid- ed not to go to graduate school after all because she was getting married, and that your mother and all your aunts thought that was probably the right thing. Now, 36 years later, you want to write about it. Begin with that dress: what it felt like to be buttoned up in its stiff bodice because, really, Arlene was probably a size smaller than you. Come to think of it, almost two sizes. What was your family doing, stuff- ing you into that too-small dress? You felt awful that day, in fact, near- ly unable to breathe, though you desperately wanted to be graceful, glamorous, like the beautiful bride who, now that you think of it, gave up her own future so that Lenny could go to law school. A move of which all the women approved. And the cheese. You write about the buffet during the cocktail hour and suddenly remember it was exces- sively lavish. But your aunt and uncle were in debt that year, weren't they, so what were they doing put- ting on such a wedding? Years later, you found out from your mother that your uncle had to sell his business the following year to one of his creditors. But in 1967, at that wedding, no-one knew any of that was coming. The band played "Sunrise, Sunset," and your uncle danced with his beaming daughter in her billow- ing white gown, and everyone oohed and aahed, even you. Though back there at the preteen table with your gross boy cousins who were making mashed potatoes'. out of the white wedding cake, you made a private vow that you would never give up your life for anyone, especially a guy like Lenny, who's got WHOLE GOURMET TURKEYS COMPLETE DINNERS, FABULOUS SIDES AND LUSCIOUS DESSERTS quite a story — now that you think of it — of his own. And so it goes. You write the story because you want to discover what you didn't know. You write to find out what happens and why, to uncover a little bit- of human nature and its perilous truths. And so you are — and must be — continually surprised. Sure enough, a week after that first run down the stairs, I came running ,down again and told my husband the news of Henny: Not only was she pregnant, it wasn't Nathan's baby. Ti National Jewish Book Awards ichael Oren's best-selling MA Six Days of War; June 1967 and the Making of the Modern Middle East is the win- ner of the Jewish Book Council's top honor, the Henry Everett Jewish Book of the Year, in its 53rd annual National Jewish Book Awards. Other winners among the twelve categories includeArthur Hertzberg in modern Jewish thought for A Jew in America, Gary Shteyngart in fiction for The Russian Debutante's Handbook and Irene Cooper in children's literature for Jewish Holidays All Year Round. David Biale wins in the anthol- ogy category for Cultures of the Jews, Elliot Dorf in contemporary Jewish life and practice for To Do the Right and Good, George Sorin in the history category for Irving Howe: A Life of Passionate Dissent, Nehama Tec in the Holocaust category for Resilience and Courage Martin Goodman in scholarship for Oxford Handbook ofiewish Studies and Tikvah Frymer-Kensky in women's stud- ies for Reading the Women of the Bible. 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