JOY LADIN

WORKING AT THE TANGLED INTERSECTION OF LITERATURE AND TRANS IDENTITY

Persea Books Announces…

Two new books by Joy Ladin

Family

“It begins with “haiku suites,” an invented form through which her mother’s dementia and the poet’s growing disability are glimpsed by the light of a blossoming world. The lyric narratives that follow portray a widening family circle that also includes estranged children, God, targeted trans women, and Trump-era America. The book concludes with “Autobiography of My Whiteness,” a reckoning with Ladin’s belated awareness of her place in America’s racial hierarchy. Written with an open heart and a formal grace, Family is the latest important work of poetry from a Lambda Literary Award finalist and National Jewish Book Award winner.”

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Once Out of Nature: Selected Essays on the Transformation of Gender

“This compassionate, constructive volume collects eleven essays written between 2008, on the cusp of what Time called America’s “transgender tipping point,” and 2021, as anti-trans laws began metastasizing around America. Drawing on her experiences as a trans parent, spouse, teacher, and author, she writes honestly and insightfully about gender, exploring its intersections with feminisms, psychotherapy, divinity, ontology, and even the poems of Emily Dickinson. Written for any curious reader, these essays teach us about who we are, who we can be, and what it means to be human.”

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Containing Multitudes Series: Exploring Identity, Religion, Poetry

For decades, Joy Ladin has been fascinated by identity, religion, and poetry, both individually and in conjunction with one another. Every week, Joy and her guests – writers, thinkers, activists, and educators she admires – explored these these subjects, sharing experiences, poems, and Torah study along the way. Come explore with us!

Important poems and The Book of Anna. January 5, 2021.

An encore of Joy’s fantastic interview with Lauren Tuchman: “The Soul You Placed Into Me is Pure”: Spiritual Leadership, Spiritual Practice, and the Importance of Inner Truth. December 29, 2020.

“Return to the Place” with guest Rabbi Kohenet Hammer, Ph.D., a discussion about her extraordinary new work, Return to the Place: The Magic, Meditation, and Mystery of Sefer Yetzirah, one of the earliest surviving books of Jewish mysticism. December 22, 2020.

“Beyond the Sex/Shame Cycle” with guest Rev. Dr. Katy E. Valentine. December 15, 2020.

Joy is in conversation with guest Rabbi Sandra Lawson. November 10, 2020.

“Theological Activism: Spirituality and Identity as Resistance” with guest Liam Hooper. November 3, 2020.

“Fat Torah: From Narrowness to Freedom” with guest Rabbi Minna Bromberg. October 27, 2020.

“Centering the Margins: Trans Writing, Publishing, and Theology” with guest Chris Paige. October 20, 2020.

“Life Support: Ritual in Our Daily Lives” — a dialogue between Reverend Kyndra Frazier and Rabbi Jill Hammer. October 13, 2020.

“Joy as Resistance: The Complexity and Political Power of Music, Laughter, and Resilience” with Michele Bratcher Goodwin. October 6, 2020.

“Sisters of the Pen:” A poetry conversation between Joy Ladin and Lesléa Newman. September 22, 2020.

“Shekhinah Speaks, Part 3.” September 15, 2020.

“Living at the Intersection: Changing and Change-Making at the Intersection of Race, Gender and Ethnicity” with Kaden Mohamed. September 8, 2020.

“Bridging Great Divides: Fostering Dialogue and Acting with Love in the Face of Hatred” with Rabbi Mike Moskowitz. August 25, 2020.

“The Search for Authenticity: What the Torah teaches us about Imposter Syndrome, Karma, and the Possibility of Redemption” with guest Dianne Cohler-Esses. August 18, 2020.

“Pride and Prejudice: What Jews Can Learn from Black and LGBTQ and Other Pride-Affirming Communities” with guest Mark Oppenheimer. August 11, 2020.

“Parting the Sea: Prayer and Meditation as Social Justice Work” with guest Gregg Bordowitz. August 4, 2020.

“I Was Never Taught How to Be Brave, Only How to Be Strong”: The Policing of Black Trans Masculine Bodies” with guest Enzi Tanner. July 28, 2020.

A special pre-recorded episode in which Joy Ladin reads from the middle part of Shekhinah Speaks. July 21, 2020.

“Maps of Known Places: Making Poetry and Memoir Out of Jewish Experience, Identity, and Family History” with guest poet Jason Sommer. June 23, 2020.

“Leading from Between: Leadership Lessons of a Trans Rabbi” with guest Becky Silverstein. June 16, 2020.

“Changing Not Changing: How Orthodox Jewish Communities Respond When Members Come Out as LGBTQ.” With Rabbi Steven Greenberg and Miryam Kabakov, founders of Eshel. June 9, 2020.