Exploring Jewish Writers

An intergenerational, online reading circle every Sunday morning, open to all.

An Online Reading Circle

Delve into the rich literary heritage and diverse perspectives of Jewish authors, fostering meaningful dialogue and exploration of Jewish themes, culture, and identity.

Exploring Jewish Writers (EJW) is an intergenerational, volunteer-led reading circle. Started by Steve Wexler, Al Stein, and Cecil McCullogh in 2017 (and named by Donna Becker), EJW has read fiction, poetry, essays, articles, plays, and more across a huge range of topics and genres. Since 2020, the group has met online over Zoom and is open to new members throughout the year.

How It Works

Each week, EJW reads and discusses an English-language or translated text, usually by a writer with some connection to Jewish life and experiences.

Texts are chosen in advance by the participants and read together online (a "social reading"), taking turns reading aloud, with discussion during and after. All are welcome; you needn’t read aloud if you prefer not to.

A taste of the breadth and depth of what EJW has read recently!

Franz Kafka	Cynthia Ozick illustration by Sonia Pulido	Primo Levi
Rokhl Auerbach	Eva Hoffman	Deborah Ross
Leonard Cohen	Emma Lazarus	Bernard Malamud
Yael Van Der Wouden	Viktor Frankl	Molly Crabapple
Isaac Bashevis Singer	J. D. Salinger Illustration by Tom Bachtell	Nora Gold
Philip Roth	Raymond Federman	Nicole Krauss
Avrum Burg	Sholem Aleichem	Etgar Keret
Ariel Dorfman	David Eagleman	Allan Bloom
Saul Bellow Drawing by Rosalie Seidler	Marjorie Sandor	Gábor T. Szántó
Yashe Silvershtein	Marshall Rosenberg	Arthur Koestler
Stefan Zweig	America and I: Short Stories by American Jewish Women Writers Edited by Joyce Antler (1991)	Avram Davidson
S. L. Shneiderman	Bette Howland	Richard K. Lowy
Evgeny Kissin