The Converts

Chana Bloch

1981

On the holiest day we fast till sundown.
I watch the sun stand still
as the horizon edges towards it. Four hours to go.
The rabbi’s mouth opens and closes and opens.
I think: fish
and little steaming potatoes,
parsley clinging to them like an ancient script.
Only the converts, six of them in the corner,
in their prayer shawls and feathery beards…
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Creator Bio

Chana Bloch

1940–2017

A poet, translator, and literary critic, Chana Bloch grew up in the Bronx, New York, and was professor emerita of English literature and creative writing at Mills College, where she taught and directed the creative writing program. The author of several books of poetry, she wrote a critical study of George Herbert and translated numerous works from Hebrew into English, including by poets Dahlia Ravikovitch and Yehuda Amichai. Among Bloch’s awards were two fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, two Pushcart Prizes, and the 2001 PEN Award for Poetry in Translation.

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