May He who blessed our ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron, David and Solomon, bless, protect, and guard the members of Israel’s Defense Forces missing in action or held captive, and other captives among our brethren, the whole House of Israel, who are in distress and captivity [as we, the members of this holyContinue reading “Prayer for the Captives (Traditional)”
Author Archives: Lane Igoudin
“Foucault in Warsaw” review in Lambda Lit
A startling book I picked up at a publishers fair turned into my latest book review for Lambda Literary. Michel Foucault’s work forever changed our understanding of sanity, sexuality, morality, and crime. And yet his life concealed a personal secret that might explain how he first arrived at his profound realizations about society. . .Continue reading ““Foucault in Warsaw” review in Lambda Lit”
Presenting on culturally inclusive English teaching
Course content and delivery at my college, as in all higher education institutions in California, remains exclusively monolingual, while serving the student population that is often majority Latinx and bilingual. On Aug. 24, as part of the annual LACC Convocation (faculty training) Day, I gave a talk on the pedagogies in English composition courses thatContinue reading “Presenting on culturally inclusive English teaching”
Lahaina, as I will always remember it
In 2011, prior to the start of a Sierra Club hiking trip, I spent two days in Lahaina, and it left a bittersweet memory – discovering a quaint, sleepy, laid back port town dating back to pre-Victorian times. So much was preserved – from its ethnic groups’ heritage (Chinese, Japanese) to the mansions of theContinue reading “Lahaina, as I will always remember it”
Authors Guild reading
Reading my travel/spirituality essay “Out of Dark Depths” (Parabola Magazine, Winter 2022-23) at the Authors Guild / LA chapter meeting/reading in North Hollywood. Great group of writers; interesting stories spanning the globe from Ghana to Kaua’i to John Lennon at The Dakota to, in my case, Yucatan.
Presenting on inclusive English teaching practices
On July 19, I presented at the 20th World Congress of Applied Linguistics (AILA 2023) held at École Normale Supérieure in Lyon, France. My talk, titled “Teaching to the Strengths: Language and Culture Inclusive Pedagogies for California Latinx Students,” was part of a daylong “Diversity, Inclusion, and Pedagogic Practices in Culturally Different Educational Systems” symposium,Continue reading “Presenting on inclusive English teaching practices”
Three war memoirs
In the latest issue of my newsletter Blessing the Sea, I am reviewing three war memoirs that teach deep spiritual truths: Matti Friedman’s Pumpkinflowers: A Soldier’s Story of a Forgotten War, Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s Flight to Arras, and Siege in the Hills of Hebron (Dov Knohl, ed.). War is destructive, but also transformative, like an earthquake pilingContinue reading “Three war memoirs”
LACC’s Citadel seeks submissions
The Citadel, the annual literary magazine published by the English/ESL Department of Los Angeles City College, where I teach, is seeking submissions for its 2023 issue. A staple on the LA literary scene for more than 50 years, The Citadel features juried fiction and poetry by the writers from our college but also from theContinue reading “LACC’s Citadel seeks submissions”
Israeli poetry evening
On March 23, I greatly enjoyed and helped to facilitate an evening of Israeli poetry in Los Angeles, commemorating the 75th anniversary of the state. For my portion, I read – in Hebrew and English – a poem by a young Mizrahi writer, Adi Keissar. Her “For Those Who” /”Le-Mi Sheh…” is a combative spokenContinue reading “Israeli poetry evening”
Learning from the Embera of the Panamanian Rainforest
Reporting on a January 2023 trip Arriving in Embera Quera was like arriving in paradise. On the way to the village, as our dugout boat was gliding through the rainforest, we saw toucans, sloths, and capuchin monkeys, and heard the unmistakable rumble of the howler monkeys disturbed by our noise. There were cows in theContinue reading “Learning from the Embera of the Panamanian Rainforest”
Lane Igoudin | Author, Professor, Dad 