Jewish and Muslim Archives

Litva Eating Memory

Kinder, I was her child until childhood grew teeth
she was mine Bubbe until memory learned hunger
my little town swallows itself along the river
while moss grows backwards into time

Prince Garden Apartments’ Swimming Pool

Bubbe wrapped me in a towel, baked in the Arizona sun, draping herself in the same green-ratted robe she’d worn since my first memory.

Litva

Want to listen to the article? Great–listen here! Sarah, my great grandma Sarah, I have given you back your daughter Mina. She has returned to you. Even though we have […]

My Lithuanian Holocaust Survivor Grandmother—

Want to listen to the article? Great–listen here! BEFORE: Hot water burbled in samovars. You strolled cobblestone streets, clicking your heels. DURING: You sipped grass soup. Dug the ditch for your […]

I Will Always Be Muslim and Jewish

Want to listen to the article? Great–listen here! I’ve long felt shame that I knew much more about my Muslim heritage than my Jewish side, but this year, I’m diving […]

Bunks

Want to listen to the article? Great–listen here! I’ve heard all these years about the bunks and their hardness. I’ve never felt them. I’ve only heard their stories. But, now […]

Khan el-Khalili, White, Texas, Pink Enamel

Tasbih

Want to listen to the article? Great–listen here! Rosaries to melook like yoursBut ours are called tasbihsWe wear ours around our necks; we wrap them several times around our wristsThey […]

Tiny Love Stories: ‘What the Ukrainian Grandmothers Have Written’

Want to listen to the article? Great–listen here! My sons in Dhaka, Bangladesh, for their Aqiqah, an Islamic tradition. It is usually done when a child is seven days old, but […]