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A Poet's Haggadah: Passover Through The Eyes Of Poets

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Whereas it's not exactly a Haggadah in the traditional sense, I think that may be the point, reinterpretation...the poems are arranged thematically in sections corresponding with the order of the seder so it's an easy tool to enhance a seder with creative readings (kind of like services at camp.) This is a unique take on Passover with many different voices represented. I didn't connect with every poem but like any anthology with so many authors in it what I didn't like others are bound to and visca versca. At my second seder where the 'younger generation' is put in charge, we abandoned the traditional text and used some of the pieces from this book. Ellyn Maybe's Four Questions is delightful and Pam Ward's Passover Blues is a knockout. There are funny pieces, some unusually personal, questions of faith, and startling glimmers of freedom through a poets eye. It won't replace your grandfathers haggadah, but it's a good one to add to the collection.

Of course, the Haggadah is not a holy scripture. That means it can -- and has over the centuries -- be revised, edited, added to, subtracted from. I used to think the 'real' Haggadah had a blue cover and advertised Maxwell House Coffee. What we think of as a traditional Haggadah is the one that even the Orthodox race through, leaving the children a bit bored and wild. That's why when growing up we never seemed to do the part after the meal, which is actually the lovelier part. Now comes the Haggadah following the standard outline but by original poetry. There are some real winners here: 'Also a Full Moon' by Helen Bar-Lev, which places the narrator celebrating Pesach in Spain, yet another land of sojourn and exile. The wonderful banter in the background of David Gershator's 'Seder' comes when Jews are anxious about opening the door to let in Elijah ('It seems so daring to open the door for nothing'). My father used to sip wine from Elijah's cup when I wasn't looking -- for a long time, this was my equivalent of Santa Claus, and as magical. And I admire the courage of Barbara Elovic's 'Dayenu' where instead of all the good things that happen to Jews, any one of which would be 'enough', she relates all the tsuris that afflict a family; if only one of those things had happened it would have been enough. "Enough already,' she writes. This is a cure for the sentimentality and shmaltziness that obscure the real world where we really didn't recline, eating like the aristocrats.

"A Poet's Haggadah" is worthy of everyone's eyes and bookshelves.

A Catholic, I am not of the Jewish faith, but Jewish history and traditions are part of my religious heritage, so it's reassuring to read the poems of writers who celebrate the Seder meal of Passover, the rich history of the Jewish people, the love God demonstrated by delivering them to freedom after so many years of persecution.

Let me say how proud I am to have one of my poems,"Saying the Blessing Over Matzah," in this gem of an anthology. And let me also add that, like that bread commercial of years ago where the announcer said, "You don't have to be Jewish to love Levy's Bread," let me paraphrase him by concluding with, "You don't have to be Jewish to love "A Poet's Haggadah," a poetry anthology I highly recommend!

Salvatore Buttaci
[...]

Rick Lupert is a risk taker. To amend or augment Holy Writ is always a risk. A Poet's Haggadah is a risk worth taking for anyone either steeped in Judaica and its history, or for the casual reader with interest in the topic. What the poets in this collection share is passion and resolve. From the tragicomedy of Adam Shechter's "The Two Questions" and Jake Marmer's "Hayei Olam (Misheberach)" to the high seriousness of Julia Stein's "Miriam's Song," A Poet's Haggadah is an emulation and an agon whose intent is to wrestle with The Haggadah the way Jacob wrestled with the dark angel at the Jabbok River, to gain the name. Do we depart this innovative encounter with a broken hip and a new name? "No" to the hip unless it is tragically hip and "yes" to the name if our names are poesis. I highly recommend this anthology, both as a reader and as a contributor.

Daniel Y. Harris, M.Div

I rarely buy books I haven't already looked at -- in the library -- or which have been recommended to me by someone I trust. There's just too much out there. But I took a risk on this one -- so interesting was the premise. A big fan of Passover, and a poet, I was intrigued. Too bad. The poems seem lazy, self-indulgent, and nothing I would bring to a Passover table. The metaphor's left half undone. I put it up for sale on my amazon.com seller account, but I can't actually recommend it. Unless you are interested in poetry which bemoans the complex familial relationships that emerge at times like these. I was looking for paeans to freedom.