Issue 2, Fall Edition
Tree Smith Benedikt, Editor and Founder
The Jewish Poets Collective Journal exists to promote the works of Jewish poets and allies and is proudly, unapologetically, Jewish. Its mission is to amplify diverse Jewish perspectives and foster an inclusive environment where the personal and the universal meet.
Poetry about the sacred and the secular, the ancient and the ever present Now, are all welcome here.
Welcome to the second issue of the Jewish Poets Collective Poetry Journal.
What a joy it is to return so soon, only months after the first offering, with a gathering of voices—some new, others familiar-and each poem a spark, a question, a brave declaration. Thank you to all who entrusted me with your work.
I’m excited to share that the second issue features a special collaboration with the Pomegranate Tent Collective, a vibrant community of Jewish artists and writers led by the talented Om Green.Throughout this issue, original visual art appears in thoughtful conversation with the poetry.
To learn more about the Pomegranate Tent Collective, please visit them on Instagram and on their website at pomegranatetent.com.
In recent weeks, I’ve felt both deep joy at the release of hostages and cautious hope that the fragile ceasefire will hold. At the same time, I’ve also felt the pain—and seen firsthand—the deepening division within our community over the State of Israel.
With that in mind, this issue includes a special section dedicated to diverse perspectives and lived experiences related to Israel. These poems do not speak with one voice; they offer many. If, after reading, you feel your perspective was not reflected, I invite you to submit your work to a future issue—so long as it engages respectfully and thoughtfully with this ongoing conversation.
The intention of the Jewish Poets Collective is not to take sides, but to create space: for Jewish poets and allies, for dialogue and nuance, and for a shared commitment to listening. In a world that is not always supportive of us, the aim is to remain connected—to one another, and to our community in Israel—through respect, honesty, and understanding.
In Gratitude,
Tree Smith Benedikt, Editor
Talya Jankovits is an award-winning writer of poetry, essays, and fiction. Her poetry collection, girl woman wife mother (Kelsay Books, 2024), received First Place in Contemporary Poetry in the 2024 Bookfest Awards. She holds her MFA in Creative Writing and resides in Chicago with her husband and four daughters. Her book, girl woman wife mother can be purchased at Kelsay Books and the Jewish Poets Collective affiliate page on Bookshop.org.
https://talyajankovits.com
David Ebenbach is the author of the poetry collections We Were the People Who Moved (Tebot Bach, winner of the Patricia Bibby Prize), Some Unimaginable Animal(Orison Books), and What’s Left to Us by Evening (Orison Books). He’s also the author of a non-fiction guide to the creative process, three short story collections, and three novels. His books have won such awards as the Drue Heinz Prize and the Juniper Prize, among others. David has a PhD in psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an MFA in writing from Vermont College, and he teaches creative writing at Georgetown University. You can find out more, if you like, at davidebenbach.com.
Ruth Rotkowitz is a poet writer whose poems have been published in various journals, and who has published two books, Escaping the Whale, and The Whale Escapes, which feature a daughter of Holocaust survivors struggling with her legacy. ruthswhale.com
velvel gold is a pseudonym. They write poetry about mikveh, their ancestors, herbal remedies they choose for their ancestors.
Guan Yu, is an award-winning emerging writer residing in Shanghai. Published
extensively in Hong Kong and Taiwan, some of his works have been translated into
English, French, Thai, and Arabic. His poems have been featured in various art
exhibitions and cultural nights, including at the University of Cambridge and
Tsinghua University.
Reyzl Grace is a Russian American writer and cultural activist whose original poetry, short stories, and essays have been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and featured in Paper Brigade, Lehrhaus, the Times of Israel, and other periodicals. Her translations of Soviet Yiddish poetry have been nominated for Best Literary Translations and appeared in In geveb, Pakn Treger, and elsewhere. She currently serves as a poetry editor for Psaltery & Lyre and lives in Minneapolis with her novelist girlfriend, arguing over which of them is the better writer. (It’s her girlfriend.) Read more at reyzlgrace.com and follow her on Bluesky @reyzlgrace.
Tamar Ascher Shai is a freshly retired educator and teacher trainer, who has written poetry all her life, and so far has been published in Autumn Sky Poetry Daily. Born in the US, raised in Switzerland, she is currently living in Israel, her home being in the hearts of the ones she loves in all three countries.
Pearl Abraham is the author of four novels, most recently, American Taliban and
The Seventh Beggar (Koret Int’l, shortlist). Essays, stories and reviews have appeared in various publications.
Animal Voices/Mineral Hum, a collection of stories in progress, was shortlisted for the 2018 McCarthy Prize. Recent poems have appeared or are forthcoming on Of the Book, Gashmius, Oberon, and Jewish Collective. Her translation from Yiddish of a Rokhl Korn poem, “Ikh volt gevolt amul deyn mamen zen,” along with her own Mother’s Day poem appeared on In geveb. Other poems in translation from the Yiddish appear on https://pearlabraham.substack.com/.
Emeritus Professor since 2022, Abraham founded and directed an MFA in Fiction and edited the sentence craft webpage, S.
Nimrod Dweck is an Israeli activist, author, poet, and entrepreneur. His debut fantasy novel, “The Two Constants,” was published in 2019, and his stories and poems have appeared in various magazines, including Yad Mizrah. Currently, he is working on his second book as a member of PJ Library’s Sephardic Stories initiative. Beyond writing, Dweck has a background as a rapper, releasing several albums with different bands. He launched and led Beta, an innovation incubator backed by Paramount Global, and currently teaches marketing at Reichman University. Additionally, he leads Darkenu, one of Israel’s largest grassroots movements, which he co-founded, and provides business development consulting for startups in education, entertainment, games, and AI.
Living in Givatayim, Israel, married + 2
Tamar Rosenwald is a second-year student of Psychology and Middle Eastern Studies at Tel Aviv University. She grew up in New York but made aliyah and served in Magav in Jenin for almost three years. Those years were filled with challenges and intensity that left a deep mark, shaping how the poet sees people, pain, and resilience. Poetry has become a way of giving shape to those experiences—turning memory into words, and searching for the light of the Creator in the places it feels hidden.
Tova Gannana is a film curator and essayist. More of her work can be read here https://www.nivmag.com/articles/bouquet and here https://www.siff.net/cinema/in-theaters/la-noir-shadows-in-paradise
Leigh Cuen is a writer who works at Forbes by day and writes poetry at night. Her writings about Jewish and Israeli food have been published by The Bold Italic, Culture Magazine, J.weekly newspaper and Common Ground News Service. Her writings about fashion, film, video games, poetry and TV have been published by Mic, Romper, Glossy, The Jerusalem Post, Elite Daily, Vox (Racked), TechCrunch, Playboy, The Los Angeles Times, and Business Insider. Her literary reviews, poetry and personal essays have been published by the International Museum of Women, Ynet, Southern Review of Books, Canyon Voices, World Literature Today, Dagda Publishing, Mosaic Literary Magazine, Earth Island Journal, Poetica Magazine, and many more. Learn more about her work via leighcuen.com.
Avishai Edenburg is an Israeli, an American and the grandchild of Hungarian Holocaust survivors, writing poems about the painful intersections of these identities, of divinity and atheism, and occasionally, about beauty. His works in Hebrew have been published in Hava LeHaba magazine, while his English poems have been published in the Mid-Atlantic Review.
Emily Meyer believes creativity is at the heart of Jewish expression. Her poetry draws on the vast tradition of Jewish text to understand the world today. She lives in Pittsburgh, PA
Om Green is a writer, artist, ritualist, and founder of The Pomegranate Tent Collective and Beit Mayim Virtual Mikveh. Her work focuses largely on her obsession with Tzimtzum through the lense of coping with disability, and openly wanting as a radical act. She lives in the Southeast United States with her husband and children. You can read more of her work on Instagram and Substack @ribcage.tidawave plundering.substack.com
In addition to her poem, Om Green’s art work is included in this issue.
Janet Bowdan’s poems have appeared in APR, Tahoma Literary Review, The Rewilding Anthology, Sequestrum, Lit Shark, and elsewhere, including a chapbook (Making Progress) from Finishing Line Press. The editor of Common Ground Review, she lives in Northampton, Massachusetts, with her husband and their son (when he is home from college). Janet has just cleaned out her office after 30 years of teaching at Western New England University and is surrounded by stacks of books she couldn’t bear to give away.
Sara Corning is a Jewish writer who also works as a speech language pathologist in Kemah, TX. She is a devoted mom to three wonderful boys. She loves adventure, cooking, and long distance running.
Stav Meishar (she/they) is an award-winning performance maker, interdisciplinary artist, researcher and educator. Their work seeks to intersect history and current affairs by mixing together tools from the worlds of theatre, circus, and contemporary performance, exploring the power of art as an investigative tool for inciting change. Outside their stage work, Stav is a dedicated historic researcher, writer and lecturer. Their work spans their many interests, intersecting Jewish culture, circus history and/or queer history. Stav’s research has been presented in academic conferences, festivals and public events around the world.
Stav is currently working on her first book as a chosen member of the Genesis Emerging Writers programme’s 2025-2026 cohort.
www.stavmeishar.com
Stav’s art work is also included in this issue of the Journal.
The Artists
Kohenet Annie Matan is a Hebrew Priestess, artist, and poet weaving Jewish mysticism and
the Sacred Feminine into clay, paint, and song. As a member of the Pomegranate Tent
Collective, she is excited to explore new creative collaborations that amplify diverse Jewish
voices. Annie also leads Matanot Lilith | Gifts of the Night and shares her work at
@sculpting.goddesses and The Priestess Is IN.
https://anniematan.substack.com/about
Sara Brooke is an artist and dancer whose work integrates movement, Jewish themes, and
visual storytelling. She holds an MA in Art Therapy from NYU (2023) and a BA in Studio Art from
the College of Charleston (2021), with 13 years of classical ballet training deeply informing her
artistic practice. Her multidisciplinary work has been featured in exhibitions such as The Art
Gallery at B’nai Amoona and Chai: Miracles & Treasures for the Chanukah Season, and she
collaborates with organizations including The Pomegranate Tent Collective and Lori Belilove &
the Isadora Duncan Dance Company. Brooke’s art explores resilience, cultural memory, and the
expressive potential of dance through painting and mixed media.
Social Media
Website– sarabrookeart.com
Instagram– @saras_scribbles
Etsy– SaraBrookeArt
Email– sarabrookeart@gmail.com
Alisa Rodney
Alisa Rodny is a Boston based mixed media artist. She creates mixed media paintings and sculptures that have a conceptual foundation in historical objects of narrative – mostly books and maps. Arrangements of symbols and objects instead of words or predictable images, offer the possibility of experiencing a space that is in concept larger on the inside than on the outside. While each viewer is able to interpret the symbols and “connect the dots” in their own unique way, the big ideas in the art pieces remain constant.alisarodny.com
Rose Gardner is a working mixed media visual artist and economist in Wyoming. She specializes in creating both Jewish centered artwork and surreal landscapes. Her body of artwork explores Jewish ritual, grief, cultural morays, loneliness, and anxiety. She has been featured or solo exhibited in various galleries, cafes, and institutions across Wyoming, Colorado, New York, and Barcelona, Spain.
You can follow her at www.instagram.com/rosegardnerart
Or go to her website https://www.rosegardner.art
