tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10116429020837092182012-02-11T11:15:40.956-06:00Patricia O'Sullivan Historical Fiction AuthorPatricia O'Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276810059497068046noreply@blogger.comBlogger601100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011642902083709218.post-16596359857306124812012-02-11T11:15:00.001-06:002012-02-11T11:15:40.966-06:00

This past week has been characterized by two very public battles between women's health care and religion, Komen's reversal on funding Planned Parenthood's breast cancer screening program and the Department of Health and Human Services mandating that all health care plans, other than religious institutions who wish to opt out, cover birth control. William Prynne The rapid escalation of both

Patricia O'Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276810059497068046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011642902083709218.post-52316646543293750912012-02-08T09:30:00.001-06:002012-02-08T09:30:45.617-06:00

The Skin of Water G.S. Johnston, Amazon Digital Services “There’s a skin on water,” she said. She made me look at the surface. It bulged, rose up from the rim of the glass. I touched it. Immediately the skin tore apart, the paperclip fell through the glass of water to the bottom. We live on that skin. With all the security of our lives, we live on that skin. We all live on that surface.

Patricia O'Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276810059497068046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011642902083709218.post-34365193028423040052012-02-07T12:00:00.005-06:002012-02-07T12:00:58.693-06:00

I can't say I love everything Dickens wrote, but David Copperfield is my favorite novel of all time. From its opening lines, it is perfection: Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show. To begin my life with the beginning of my life, I record that I was born (as I have been informed and believe) on a Friday

Patricia O'Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276810059497068046noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011642902083709218.post-70602941351080686092012-02-05T10:34:00.000-06:002012-02-05T11:05:21.540-06:00

God is one of the most successful authors of all time with a huge fan base. What's the secret to his success? 1.      His books There is no question that most of God’s books have been bestsellers. His first big hit was the Vedas and its sequels, the Upanishads and the Ramayana. Next God wrote the Tanak. Some think The New Testament is a sequel, but that is disputed among scholars who study

Patricia O'Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276810059497068046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011642902083709218.post-65610526484516357842012-02-01T08:23:00.000-06:002012-02-01T08:23:34.655-06:00

My friend, Julie Cantrell, launched her first novel, Into the Free, last night at Oxford's Square Books. This was one of the most interesting book signings I've ever attended. The standing-room-only crowd included several of Oxford's literary greats including New York Times columnist and author of several cookbooks, John T. Edge, author of In the Sanctuary of Outcasts, Neil White, children's

Patricia O'Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276810059497068046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011642902083709218.post-51730683291674789372012-01-27T14:29:00.000-06:002012-01-27T14:29:24.811-06:00

First, a confession. I bought this book because I liked the cover. Specifically, I thought the man was attractive. I also liked his hat and wondered how it stayed on his head. Come to find out, the artist, Marcus Stone, also did pen and ink illustrations for novels by Charles Dickens and Anthony Trollope. Stone didn't just paint portraits or pleasant Victorian scenes, he understood how to

Patricia O'Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276810059497068046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011642902083709218.post-56386505249736514402012-01-23T09:00:00.000-06:002012-01-23T09:00:21.769-06:00

Why is Amazon a 'predator' for having a business model that works? Why is Nancy Pearl getting pushback from the publishing industry when they didn't want her project in the first place? Check out NPR's report on the continuing criticism of Amazon by the publishing industry.

Patricia O'Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276810059497068046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011642902083709218.post-14504443333210364942012-01-19T08:30:00.000-06:002012-01-19T08:30:20.162-06:00

The Band of Gypsies by Enrico Antiporda, Blue Owl Editions, 2000 Jamie Aragon has fled Manila for Balboa, Spain after a family tragedy gets him into trouble with high-ranking general in the Philippine army.  In Balboa, Jamie enters an internship program that houses him with an assortment of other twenty-somethings from all over the world. Jamie quickly befriends his flat mates and learns that

Patricia O'Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276810059497068046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011642902083709218.post-7100390205587119742012-01-17T14:30:00.000-06:002012-01-17T14:30:23.276-06:00

Thanks to Korri, a goodreads reviewer for her honest review of Hope of Israel on January 17, 2012: When it comes to historical fiction, some books focus on the external aspects, like lavish descriptions of costumes and details about the sensory experience of life in the past. Others reconstruct the period using the arguments and ideas available to the characters, vividly rendering the interior

Patricia O'Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276810059497068046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011642902083709218.post-66994444659404961132012-01-16T16:22:00.000-06:002012-01-16T16:22:33.389-06:00

Thanks to my 13-yr-old daughter for helping me with the technology!

Patricia O'Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276810059497068046noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011642902083709218.post-15795671512712405192012-01-12T13:47:00.000-06:002012-01-12T13:47:55.232-06:00

For those interested in Judea during the period of the Jewish rebellion and the destruction of the temple (67-70), this book is a must-read. Harry Freedman's grasp on the period's political climate, religious factions, and everyday life for both Romans and Jews is simply amazing. He weaves these facts into a narrative that really puts the reader in the scene. In addition, Freedman helps the

Patricia O'Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276810059497068046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011642902083709218.post-82793098711728841772012-01-10T18:51:00.000-06:002012-01-10T18:51:32.386-06:00

Charles Stuart, Bonny Prince Charlie It's funny how a story can be inspired by something minor. I've been struggling with how to proceed with a half-written novel set in Salisbury, MA in the early 1700s. One of the methods I tried to help me figure out where the story was going was to tinker with the name of it. Right now it is called The Runaway Indenture. Previously it was Graven Image. At

Patricia O'Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276810059497068046noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011642902083709218.post-3241798381787000462012-01-02T21:07:00.000-06:002012-01-02T21:07:58.275-06:00

Any good historical novelist pays attention to the miniseries market. I don't care if the miniseries wasn't based on a novel - any good novel could be made into a miniseries. Here are a few I've been enjoying lately starting with one I can't wait to see part II of this month: Downton Abbey: The Granthams and their servants at a country estate leading up to and covering WWI. How can you resist

Patricia O'Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276810059497068046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011642902083709218.post-43318541819755095222011-12-28T13:30:00.002-06:002012-01-18T10:10:25.933-06:00

Three wonderful authors have reviewed Hope of Israel in recent months.  DeAnna Cameron, author of The Belly Dancer and Dancing at the Chance, wrote this about Hope of Israel on Goodreads in September: The heart of this novel is a tender romance between a young Jew and a young Catholic who are united at first by the common experience of holding to faiths that must be practiced in secret in

Patricia O'Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276810059497068046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011642902083709218.post-60691689568805216222011-12-22T16:53:00.000-06:002011-12-22T16:53:59.720-06:00

Smithsonian Magazine has a wonderful article in this month's issue about Roger Williams's physical and intellectual journey in the English colonies. John Barry writes: Williams believed that preventing error in religion was impossible, for it required people to interpret God’s law, and people would inevitably err. He therefore concluded that government must remove itself from anything that

Patricia O'Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276810059497068046noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011642902083709218.post-29684364009287334522011-12-16T08:05:00.000-06:002011-12-16T08:05:08.893-06:00

"I am typing this having just had an injection to try to reduce the pain in my arms, hands, and fingers. The chief side effect of this pain is numbness in the extremities, filling me with the not irrational fear that I shall lose the ability to write. Without that ability, I feel sure in advance, my “will to live” would be hugely attenuated. I often grandly say that writing is not just my

Patricia O'Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276810059497068046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011642902083709218.post-82706071144096312122011-12-14T09:02:00.000-06:002011-12-14T09:02:02.146-06:00

Amazon.com has now added to its list of foes independent bookstores, 'brick and mortar' bookstores, and authors who support those bookstores. More interesting than the actual opinion pieces about this new battle are the reader comments. Those who view Amazon.com as a Goliath bent to destroy "literary culture" through economic bullying plan on boycotting the retail giant.  Author, Richard

Patricia O'Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276810059497068046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011642902083709218.post-69621542997191665292011-12-09T09:55:00.001-06:002011-12-09T10:29:35.966-06:00

Alexandra Alter's feature on Darcie Chan "How I Became a Best-Selling Author" in the Wall Street Journal book section is an interesting read for aspiring authors. However, Publisher's Marketplace says this about Alter's article: "Unfortunately the article suffers from some NYT-esque pejoratives and errors of fact, so the account of publisher discussions is open to some interpretation."

Patricia O'Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276810059497068046noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011642902083709218.post-65648887593123525662011-11-22T10:15:00.000-06:002011-11-22T10:15:35.983-06:00

This past week The Learning Chanel began airing its new series “All American Muslim”, a reality show featuring five Muslim families in Dearborn, Michigan.  Unlike many of TLC’s shows about families you might only encounter on TV (openly polygamous, having 8 or more children, really rich, really short) “All American Muslim” is a show about people you’d likely meet in your own neighborhood. I

Patricia O'Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276810059497068046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011642902083709218.post-5646529118111428742011-11-17T14:16:00.000-06:002011-11-17T14:16:00.509-06:00

Since a Danish newspaper published a dozen cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammad several years ago, public attention was focused on the Muslim response, which ranged from meaningful attempts to educate the public about Islam to violent attacks on Danish citizens around the world. The saga of the blasphemous cartoons captured public attention perhaps because of the violence that followed.

Patricia O'Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276810059497068046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011642902083709218.post-25563489161634056952011-11-16T15:00:00.001-06:002011-11-16T15:00:12.915-06:00

Every year since 1995 UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) has celebrated the International Day for Tolerance.  UNESCO's declaration of principles on tolerance can be read here.  Intolerance is often nurtured in homogeneous communities and/or under government systems that protect free speech.  Consider the Westboro Baptist Church, the "God hates fags"

Patricia O'Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276810059497068046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011642902083709218.post-65334548449706905892011-11-08T21:57:00.000-06:002011-11-08T21:57:29.195-06:00

Mississippi defeats personhood amendment http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gVCtTvsInDPKfmU_VrmOZ26aRbLw?docId=7cec6423066f4470abd20cb39ade6b83 The most religious, most pro-life state in the union defeated personhood 58 to 42%. Personhood USA needs to rethink the zero-sum game of giving rights to the unborn while taking away rights from women. There has to be a better solution

Patricia O'Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276810059497068046noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011642902083709218.post-26394968250293404622011-11-05T13:53:00.001-05:002011-11-05T17:32:44.677-05:00

This quote, attributed to William Faulkner, is a good place to start a piece about the history that is about to be made once again in Mississippi. On November 8, Mississippians will have the opportunity to vote on Amendment 26 or 'personhood' which will give legal rights of personhood to a fertilized human egg. As used in this Article III of the state constitution, "The term 'person' or 'persons

Patricia O'Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276810059497068046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011642902083709218.post-50327597803727716072011-10-17T08:45:00.001-05:002011-10-17T13:44:17.777-05:00

Amazon rewrites the rules of book publishing Here is the Publisher's Lunch response which you can read in full if you join Publisher's Marketplace as a member. http://lunch.publishersmarketplace.com/2011/10/that-article/

Patricia O'Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276810059497068046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011642902083709218.post-35527838778006228742011-09-16T15:50:00.001-05:002011-09-16T15:52:10.166-05:00

In the last month I've given three separate presentations that included a summary of the religious make-up of the world and of the United States. In all three presentations the audience was surprised at the number of 'nones', that is people who do not identify with a particular religion, are agnostics, or are atheists. I was surprised at their surprise given how long this data has been available

Patricia O'Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276810059497068046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011642902083709218.post-14306521104039509952011-08-28T14:45:00.000-05:002011-08-28T14:45:06.334-05:00

Ewen Morrison's depressing forecast for books at the Edinburgh Book Festival. "Will books, as we know them, come to an end?Yes, absolutely, within 25 years the digital revolution will bring about the end of paper books. But more importantly, ebooks and e-publishing will mean the end of "the writer" as a profession. Ebooks, in the future, will be written by first-timers, by teams, by speciality

Patricia O'Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276810059497068046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011642902083709218.post-42846401369910987062011-08-17T10:23:00.000-05:002011-08-17T10:23:50.050-05:00

Yesterday afternoon I had to opportunity to meet Kevin Wilson, who was visiting Square Books in Oxford to sign his debut novel, The Family Fang. He very graciously signed my copy before I ran off. I'm sorry I did not get a chance to hear him read as I had to rush off to a function at my kids' school, but I can't wait to get into this book. NPR's Maureen Corrigan called The Family Fang "a

Patricia O'Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276810059497068046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011642902083709218.post-24271827999176373782011-08-09T09:54:00.000-05:002011-08-09T09:54:32.072-05:00

Thank you David Schonberg for posting this review of Hope of Israel on Amazon! 5.0 out of 5 stars well-researched, well-written, August 8, 2011By David Schonberg - See all my reviewsThis review is from: Hope of Israel (Kindle Edition)Set in the latter part of the 17th century, Portugal- A story relating to the Inquisition in Portugal- and a converso family. In 1290, King Edward I expelled the

Patricia O'Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276810059497068046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011642902083709218.post-49413282595637603292011-08-04T10:22:00.000-05:002011-08-04T10:22:35.110-05:00

There are so many excuses for not posting more often. However, the one I keep coming back to is the limitations I placed on this blog by describing it in terms of colonial American Judaism. In the last year and a half my fiction writing has expanded beyond that category. So now it is time for the blog to reflect that change as well. What a relief! Now I can write about writing. In particular, I

Patricia O'Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276810059497068046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011642902083709218.post-11380966472940361662011-06-30T13:01:00.000-05:002011-06-30T13:01:44.043-05:00

1. Hope of Israel is available in Kindle! http://www.amazon.com/Hope-Israel-Patricia-OSullivan/dp/1605945781/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1309455646&sr=8-1 2. Oxford Writers Group, a critique and support group for aspiring fiction writers in Oxford, MS is going to have its first meeting at Off Square Books on August 9 at 7pm. 3. I'm ready to send off A Notable Occupation to the agents who requested

Patricia O'Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276810059497068046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011642902083709218.post-41260344296003316802011-06-23T14:33:00.000-05:002011-06-23T14:33:03.053-05:00

This past weekend the Historical Novel Society held it's fourth annual conference. I posted about the experience a couple of days ago, but today I'd like to discuss in more depth the panel I was on: Jewish Historical Fiction. It was Laurel Corona who organized and then moderated the panel. Her non-fiction book about Jewish resistance to Nazis in Lithuania, Until Our Last Breath, won the 2009

Patricia O'Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276810059497068046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011642902083709218.post-9875145241995201992011-06-21T13:40:00.010-05:002011-06-21T20:28:07.233-05:00

I just got back from an amazing four days in San Diego. What a beautiful city!The tall ships are part of the San Diego Maritime Museum. The photos of the ship's aft and of the mast and rigging are of the HMS Surprise, which we learned was used in the filming of Pirates of the Caribbean 4. The tall ship in front of the San Diego skyline is the Star of India, a passenger ship that brought

Patricia O'Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276810059497068046noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011642902083709218.post-26306030373035002232011-05-01T19:34:00.003-05:002011-05-01T19:52:00.498-05:00

The good news is that I've been booked for three book clubs who are reading Hope of Israel this spring and summer. Thanks to my friends and supporters in Oxford for choosing Hope of Israel for their book club. The bad news is that Legend of the Dead did not progress to the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award semi-finals. My goal had always been the quarterfinals so that I could get reviews and a

Patricia O'Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276810059497068046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011642902083709218.post-74626201407378446772011-03-26T12:09:00.003-05:002011-03-26T12:15:13.310-05:00

I. The Valk, May 1654 – September 1654 No one could explain it. The crew, the passengers, and the ship’s master were equally perplexed. How did fifteen vessels on the open sea simply disappear? How was it that their ship drifted alone on the Atlantic? Benjamin found their situation curious, but that was all. The older ones, however, believed their separation from the fleet to be a sign. They

Patricia O'Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276810059497068046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011642902083709218.post-91816683906655065392011-03-22T16:37:00.004-05:002011-03-22T16:51:01.313-05:00

My second novel, Legend of the Dead, made the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award quarterfinals today. That means it survived a first cut from 5,000 entries in the general fiction category to 1,000 entries, and now to 250 entries. The next cut is April 26, when the 250 quarter-finalists will be cut down to 50 semi-finalists. Cover photo courtesy of the Fruitlands Museum in Harvard, MA.

Patricia O'Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276810059497068046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011642902083709218.post-25942965323060191752011-02-26T09:58:00.006-06:002011-05-18T11:26:34.195-05:00

This is my tentative pitch for A NOTABLE OCCUPATION:Every day more British war ships appeared in Narragansett Bay, blockading Newport's harbor. Trade was cut off, and just about everyone in our little Synagogue community began to leave for safer havens inland. But it was not just the Jews who were fleeing Newport. Hundreds of Christians were leaving as well. Shops and houses were boarded up,

Patricia O'Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276810059497068046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011642902083709218.post-76365722574390353902011-02-01T16:49:00.003-06:002011-02-26T11:03:07.461-06:00

Legend of the Dead has been entered in Amazon.com's Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award 2011. The first round of 10,000 will be cut down to 2,000 based on the author's pitch. Here is the pitch for Legend of the Dead. Crossing my fingers that it makes the cut at the end of February:Benjamin would rather submit to pirates than to the Jewish mothers on board the ship taking them to Amsterdam. But when

Patricia O'Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276810059497068046noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011642902083709218.post-20736616433409322902011-01-07T11:31:00.001-06:002011-01-07T11:44:14.654-06:00

My novel about the readmission of the Jews to England is out. It can be purchased directly from Llumina Press (http://www.llumina.com/store/hopeofisrael.htm) or Amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com/Hope-Israel-Patricia-OSullivan/dp/1605945781/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1294422022&sr=8-1).Here is the blub from the back cover:In 1290, King Edward I expelled the Jews from England. In 1656, a small

Patricia O'Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276810059497068046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011642902083709218.post-29647072502611285722010-10-25T19:53:00.003-05:002010-10-25T20:15:30.130-05:00

There are some in the United States who lament the morphing of Christmas from a religious to a civil holiday. Unlike the Puritans, they don’t want to ban Christmas, but, like the Puritans, they desire an end to excess and revelry and more emphasis on religion. However, I would argue that Christmas is the very reason the United States can still claim that 76% of its population is still Christian (

Patricia O'Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276810059497068046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011642902083709218.post-25220861838160912202010-08-04T20:51:00.003-05:002010-08-25T09:24:47.638-05:00

I'm a big fan of the NPR series, This I Believe. If you've never listened to it, check it out at http://thisibelieve.org/. One aspect I really like about the series is that it encourages people to consider what it is they really believe and then condense that into a statement with a series of anecdotes or examples to back up the belief statement.It is really difficult to state your case in one

Patricia O'Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276810059497068046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011642902083709218.post-23242957652485570132010-07-05T14:18:00.005-05:002010-07-05T15:25:43.450-05:00

A short post today. I've not written in awhile because I've been working on Legend of the Dead, and I'm happy to write that the draft is done and ready for my readers.Hope of Israel is currently being edited and will be published by Llumina Press in the fall.And now I get to begin doing research on my third novel about the British and French occupations of Newport during the American Revolution.

Patricia O'Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276810059497068046noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011642902083709218.post-12486466209748195442010-05-23T13:06:00.010-05:002010-05-23T15:56:51.557-05:00

Last week I was fortunate to be able to visit the lovely town of Ispwich on the north shore of the coast of Massachusetts. Named after the English town from which most of the original settlers hailed, Ipswich was established in 1633 on Agawam land by the son of the governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, John Winthrop Jr.What drew me to Ipswich was a project sponsored by the Ispwich Museum

Patricia O'Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276810059497068046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011642902083709218.post-11689626763034188292010-05-16T06:24:00.005-05:002010-05-16T06:43:02.674-05:00

Taken from http://www.jewishheritagemonth.gov/index.html About Jewish American Heritage MonthOn April 20, 2006, President George W. Bush proclaimed that May would be Jewish American Heritage Month. The announcement was the crowning achievement in an effort by the Jewish Museum of Florida and South Florida Jewish community leaders that resulted in resolutions introduced by Rep. Debbie Wasserman

Patricia O'Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276810059497068046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011642902083709218.post-12592688595529594102010-04-02T17:25:00.004-05:002010-04-02T17:51:20.424-05:00

Today, in a Good Friday sermon, a preacher from the papal household, Rev. Raniero Cantalamessa, compared media criticsm of Church leaders' handling of criminal priests to antisemitism. Quoting a letter from a Jewish friend, Rev. Raniero said, "The use of stereotypes, the shifting of personal responsibility and guilt to a collective guilt remind me of the most shameful aspects of anti-Semitism."

Patricia O'Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276810059497068046noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011642902083709218.post-41273868704025059872010-03-25T16:40:00.003-05:002010-03-25T19:11:03.448-05:00

In 1163, an unordained English clerk from Bedford named Philip de Brois raped a young girl. When her father, a minor knight, sought justice, Philip de Brois killed the man. The civil authority, the sheriff of Bedford, arrested Philip, but, because of his ecclesial status, the clerk argued that he should be tried in the ecclesial court, not the civil court. In addition, Philip treated the sheriff

Patricia O'Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276810059497068046noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011642902083709218.post-88626349297382732982010-03-14T21:22:00.004-05:002010-03-14T21:41:50.148-05:00

Gail Frances LaCerda Lucey 1937-2010You used to imagine you were Anne of Green Gables, nestled on a branch, lost in a favorite storyFrom your perch you could see Cook Pond and the little river that connected it to the reservoirYou spied Joanne playing in the yard, your mother hanging laundry, your father smoking his pipeWhen you were a young woman you traveled north to Anne’s country with kindred

Patricia O'Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276810059497068046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011642902083709218.post-66511640113732296232010-03-01T14:33:00.003-06:002010-03-01T14:43:12.585-06:00

Love’s Pursuit; Siri Mitchell; Bethany House; 2009; 329 pgs.; pb $14.99; 978-0-7642-0432-6Susannah Phillips is a good girl. Instructed by the Puritan community of Stoneybrooke, Massachusetts to be obedient, God-fearing, hard-working and modest, Susannah does not question her beliefs or way of life. But then Daniel Holcombe, captain in the king’s army comes to board with her family. Daniel’s

Patricia O'Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276810059497068046noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011642902083709218.post-32563185337751743452010-02-22T21:41:00.002-06:002010-02-22T21:50:35.269-06:00

I. BekhorLisbon, Portugal April 1642It had begun. Domingo moved quickly through the crowd, his small body easily weaving through tight groups of spectators. He would have nightmares the rest of his life for coming today but he knew he could never forgive himself if he stayed away.“Today Portugal atones for a grave sin of omission. In failing her duty to suppress the Jews, Portugal has advanced

Patricia O'Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276810059497068046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011642902083709218.post-60095992262084210372010-02-11T13:26:00.002-06:002010-02-11T13:38:40.168-06:00

THE FRUIT OF HER HANDS: The Story of Shira of Ashkenaz; Michelle Cameron; hb $25.00; 422 pgs.; Pocket Books; ISBN 978-1-4391-1822-1 Shira of Falaise has been allowed an unusual childhood for a girl of the 13th century. Her father, the Rev Shmuel ben Solomon, taught her to read the holy books and how to discuss the contents of them even in the presence of his yeshiva students. Furthermore, he has

Patricia O'Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276810059497068046noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011642902083709218.post-649836053482794512010-01-28T16:44:00.001-06:002010-01-28T23:24:14.941-06:00

In my survey of world religions classes I usually take a chronological approach, introducing students to the earliest evidence of human religion and taking us up to the present day. While most students enjoy this method, some are unsettled by it. The most common complaint is that I am somehow suggesting that religion changes as humans change. In other words, humans created the gods rather than

Patricia O'Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276810059497068046noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011642902083709218.post-66811331628692456452010-01-03T11:41:00.004-06:002010-01-03T13:36:10.590-06:00

Two days ago, on January 1, Ireland's anti-blasphemy law became effective. The law stipulates that persons or institutions may be fined up to 25,000 Euros for causing "outrage among a substantial number of the adherents of a religion."(Who asked for Ireland's blasphemy law?, Padraig Reidy, guardian.co.uk at 09.00 BST on Thursday 9 July 2009)Guardian columnist, Padraig Reidy, rightly points out

Patricia O'Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276810059497068046noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011642902083709218.post-30244361263374105752009-12-08T17:44:00.007-06:002009-12-08T18:18:40.633-06:00

The day before Thanksgiving I eagerly piled my kids into the car and set off for Newport to visit the newly opened Ambassador John L. Loeb Jr. Visitors' Center and George Washington Institute for Religious Freedom. We were disappointed to discover that the center was closed for the season, but even further disappointed to learn from several Newport natives that the center was only open in August

Patricia O'Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276810059497068046noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011642902083709218.post-87785746792906341632009-11-12T16:10:00.004-06:002009-11-12T17:32:19.511-06:00

There is a rumor going around the internet that President Obama has renamed the White House Christmas tree a "holiday tree" and is banning religious ornaments from being hung on it. http://www.factcheck.org/2009/10/holiday-tree-hooey/ In respose to this, someone named Skygray, who blogs at MyFox, which is affiliated with Fox News, has called for a national mailout of religious ornaments to the

Patricia O'Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276810059497068046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011642902083709218.post-68235667831571211002009-11-08T08:06:00.003-06:002009-11-08T18:38:15.116-06:00

The New York Times reports today on a case in London regarding the denial of admission by the Jewish Free School of a boy whose mother was a convert. According to the Times, the Orthodox school does not consider the boy Jewish because his mother's conversion was overseen by a progressive rabbi rather than an Orthodox rabbi.There are so many interesting aspects to this case, but I'd like to take a

Patricia O'Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276810059497068046noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011642902083709218.post-55713335523645925892009-10-05T15:54:00.005-05:002009-10-06T12:34:35.907-05:00

Among some who study the American Pilgrims and Jewish History (see Gloria Kaufer Greene, Rabbi Elias Lieberman, Caleb Johnson) there is a belief that the American holiday, Thanksgiving, has its roots in the Jewish holiday of Sukkot.The argument is that the first Thanksgiving bore a striking resemblance to Biblical descriptions of and requirements for Sukkot. In addition, the Pilgrims being a

Patricia O'Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276810059497068046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011642902083709218.post-33563773828603277022009-09-22T20:09:00.003-05:002009-09-23T14:01:51.056-05:00

London, England April 1642 Her labor was not going well. They never did. This was the second one in Lucy’s memory, but Nettie said that there had been two others when Lucy was very young. Four pregnancies in seven years. Four dead babies. All girls. Lucy shuddered at the thought. How she had survived as the firstborn seemed almost incomprehensible. She tried to shut out her mother’s screams by

Patricia O'Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276810059497068046noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011642902083709218.post-12451692091982739502009-09-21T10:54:00.005-05:002009-09-21T11:22:48.969-05:00

Yesterday we sponsored a presentation and food sampling for Rosh Hashanah at the lodge of the Residential College at the University of Mississippi. We owe great thanks to Jim Ebel for his wonderful presentation, Rose Ebel for her challah and honeycake and helping to plan the event, Gloria Lenhoff for her singing, Tammy Goulet for her sound advice and providing music for the event, Karen Forgette

Patricia O'Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276810059497068046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011642902083709218.post-76704749494327852092009-09-17T13:05:00.004-05:002009-10-06T12:33:18.122-05:00

On September 17, 1787 the Continental Congress met to sign the Constitution into law. Today, September 17, is Constitution Day in the U.S.A. Established in 2004, this day had formerly been known as Citizenship Day, a day honoring all those who had become naturalized citizens of the United States. Citizenship Day was formally established in 1940.In recent years many Americans have lamented the

Patricia O'Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276810059497068046noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011642902083709218.post-11326412540850543962009-09-07T12:51:00.004-05:002009-09-07T13:00:27.810-05:00

Is Jewish fiction that which is written by Jews or is it fiction about Jews? I'm not sure I'm the one to answer (or even ask) that question but I tend to side with those who'd support the latter view.So much of historical fiction about Jews (at least that which is available to an English-speaking readership), takes the Holocaust as its starting point. While this period of history is enormously

Patricia O'Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276810059497068046noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1011642902083709218.post-11015659486138668062009-09-02T15:29:00.004-05:002009-10-06T12:31:59.736-05:00

In 1858, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow published the collection, Birds of Passage, which contained the poem "The Jewish Cemetery at Newport." The poem reflected Longfellow's surprise that the colonial town of Newport had a Jewish cemetery full of strange and foreign names such as Alvares and Rivera. Longfellow concluded the poem with the reflection that the only Jews in Newport were dead "and the

Patricia O'Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276810059497068046noreply@blogger.com0