Contributions by this Author
Janet R. Kirchheimer
Janet R.
Kirchheimer is a poet whose work has appeared in a variety of publications both
in the U.S. and abroad. Her moving collection of poems about the Holocaust How To Spot One Of Us (CLAL, Nov. 2007)
has received endorsements from Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel, Sir Martin Gilbert,
and Rabbis Harold Kushner and Irving “Yitz” Greenberg (Chairman
Emeritus of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council), as well as renowned poets Mary Stewart Hammond, Yerra Sugarman,
and Jeanne Marie Beaumont. Her
work has appeared in journals, including Atlanta
Review, Potomac Review, Kalliope, Lilith, Natural Bridge, PoetryNZ, Main Street Rag, Alimentum,
on beliefnet.com and babelfruit.com. Janet was nominated for a Pushcart Poetry Prize in 2007.
A recipient of a
Drisha Institute for Jewish Education Arts Fellowship for 2006-2007, she was a
semi-finalist in the “Discovery”/The Nation contest, a finalist in the
Portlandia Chapbook contest, and first runner up in the Concrete Wolf Chapbook
contest (2006). A finalist in the Small Poetry Press 2004 Select Poets
Series chapbook contest, her essay, “Make Your Selection, Please,” was a Jewish
Telegraphic Agency feature article for Yom HaShoah in 2001. In 1999, she was
awarded honorable mention in the Judah Magnes Museum Poems on the Jewish
Experience contest.
Janet has
given several readings and spoken at Kristallnacht and Yom HaShoah
commemorations at locales including ADL/Hidden
Child Foundation, The Westover School, Poet’s House, KGB Bar, Cornelia Street
Cafe, Teachers and Writers, Makor, and various synagogues.She is also a
member of Chevrah
Kadishah (the ritual preparation for Jewish burial), as are her
parents. Through this experience,
as with her poems, she has been able to transform her family’s pain into a
moving tribute. “So many members of my family never had a burial and, as the
daughter of survivors, the opportunity to give someone a proper Jewish burial
is a great honor for me.”
Janet is
a Teaching Fellow at CLAL–The National Jewish Center for Learning and
Leadership. In addition to giving readings and speaking about the Holocaust,
she conducts writing workshops, including, “Changing the World with Words”
teaching adults and teens about Judaism using creative writing exercises and
poetry, and leads a “Poetry Shmooze” where participants read and discuss
Jewish-themed poems. To bring Janet to your community, you may reach her at
212-779-3300 x111 or jkirchheimer@clal.org
To order a copy of Janet's acclaimed collection of poems, please visit http://www.clal.org/cs.html