Raging in Diaspora: A Writing Workshop with Aaron Kreuter
Sun, Sep 14
|Peretz Centre for Secular Jewish Culture
Fiction writer, poet, and academic Aaron Kreuter offers an interactive workshop on Jewish diasporic fiction
Time & Location
Sep 14, 2025, 4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Peretz Centre for Secular Jewish Culture, 6184 Ash St, Vancouver, BC V5Z 3G9, Canada
Event Description
Following his book talk at the Vancouver Public Library (Central Branch) on Saturday, September 13th, author Aaron Kreuter invites members of the Peretz community and friends to a literary talk and writing workshop.
Approaches to Writing Fiction, Non-Fiction, and Poetry
"Kreuter’s handling of complex history, culture, faith and politics, weaving them seamlessly into the lives of teenage potheads and horndogs, is masterful." — Jeff Dupuis, Miramichi Reader
In his academic work, Aaron focuses on the potential of, and responsibilities involved in, writing Jewish diasporic fiction, developing the term "diasporic heteroglossia" to refer to fiction's unique ability to contain multiple voices that resist and write back against national centres. Through the setting of a fictional Jewish summer camp on Anishinaabe lands and waters, Aaron's latest book Lake Burntshore brings to life the vivid multiplicity of Jewish experiences that reflect a gamut of pressing questions and issues facing Jewish communities today.
To write Lake Burntshore, Kreuter drew from Jewish summer camp novels, memoires, academic research, online discourses, and his own experiences and those of the people around him, as well as learning about the region in which the book takes place in the context of the ongoing colonization of Anishinaabe lands in Ontario. The specific context of a Jewish summer camp, and the inciting incident of the story that introduces Israeli soldiers as camp counsellors, present opportunities for the characters, and by extension, readers, to grapple with settler colonialism here in Canada and in Israel/Palestine.
I write to capture something about the world. I write to turn time and experience into narrative. I write to communicate, to compel, to plead, to impress. [...] To be in dialogue. To be in vehement disagreement. To shout shout shout It does not have to be this way. — Aaron Kreuter
Literary Talk & Writing Workshop
Aaron will discuss his experiences writing poetry and fiction from an anticolonial and antizionist lens. In particular, he will pay close attention to his two latest books — Rubble Children, a collection of short fiction set around a Reform Synagogue in Toronto, and Lake Burntshore, a novel set at a Jewish sleepover camp — and how he integrates antizionist politics, themes, and narratives into the work.
This intimate workshop (only 10 spots available) is designed for writers of all levels of experience who are interested in writing from an anti- or non-Zionist worldview. A portion of the workshop will be a generative writing session, where participants will have time to write fiction, non-fiction, or poetry, and to share their work with the group if they feel comfortable.
Sunday, September 14th, 2025 (4-6pm)
Kirman Yiddish Library at the Peretz Centre
6184 Ash Street, Vancouver
Advance registration is required (10 seats), by donation.
➤ How to Get Here / Building & Accessibility Information
About the Speaker
Aaron Kreuter is the author of six books, including the poetry collection Shifting Baseline Syndrome, a 2022 finalist for the Governor General’s Literary Award. His work has been shortlisted for two Vine Awards for Jewish Literature, a Raymond Souster Award, and a ReLit Award. Aaron's award-winning academic work explores contemporary Jewish fiction, Israel/Palestine, settler colonialism, and diaspora.
His most recent book is the novel Lake Burntshore (2025), which was included in The Toronto Star's list of "Eighteen Essential Summer Reads" and CBC Book's "Six Sizzling Books to Add to Your Summer Reading List.” He lives in Toronto and teaches literature and creative writing at Trent University. Learn more at his website: https://aaronkreuter.com/
Explore Aaron's books below:
Recent interviews with Aaron Kreuter:
"Aaron Kreuter: I really, truly believe that fiction can change the world", Stories from the Pink House with Rina Barone (July 17, 2025)
"A Young Camp Counselor Fights to Protect the Integrity of a Beloved Summer Tradition in Lake Burntshore," Open Book (May 9, 2025)
"Portaging Through Aaron Kreuter’s Camp Burntshore: An Interview" with Noah Farberman, Niv Magazine (April 6, 2025)
"Discussing Rubble Children, short stories, and belonging with Aaron Kreuter" with Anindita Mukherjee, University of Alberta Press (March 28, 2025)