Author Anita Diamant speaks to University students

Bestselling author of several non-fiction and fiction books Anita Diamant spoke to an audience in a crowded Barnum 008 Wednesday night. In her talk, which was entitled "Writing about Jewish Women," Diamant discussed her experiences and the inspirations for her writing.

Diamant, the author of six handbooks on Jewish life as well as numerous other works, is best known for TheNew York Times best-selling novel The Red Tent, which is a historical fiction retelling the Biblical story of Dinah.

Diamant read excerpts from both The Red Tent and her newer novel Good Harbor, a novel about contemporary Jewish women. The novels are different, Diamant said, but are connected through their stories of women's lives.

According to Diamant, she used a combination of anthropological research and her imagination to write The Red Tent.

"There were no parish or historical records to collect," Diamant said. "I had to make up the information from what I learned from history."

Diamant explained that she wrote her story as historical fiction, not Biblical fiction. "I wrote about the universal experiences of women, not just about Jewish women," Diamant said. "I wrote about growing up, falling in love, marriage, and childbirth."

Although The Red Tent is based on the story of the Biblical character Dinah, who is Joseph's sister and appears briefly in the book of Genesis, Diamant said that the Biblical content was not as important as the women's story. "I became less concerned with the Biblical content, and I followed my imagination," Diamant said. "It became my story, and now it's your story as the audience."

Diamant's works have been both widely acclaimed and criticized. She attributes the appeal of The Red Tent to its ability to reach both Jewish and non-Jewish readers on a multi-generational level. Although she realizes that her audience is primarily female, Diamant also noted that women are the primary target for her books.

"I never wondered if what I was doing looked good to Judaism," said Diamant. "I trusted that both Jewish women and men would be open to a new story. I knew there would be an audience."

When addressing criticism of her books, especially The Red Tent, Diamant often sends those detractors to look at the characters in the text.

"Art isn't propaganda, nor is art perfectly tame," Diamant said. "The danger in art is that it shows new ways to see things and exposes new ideas."

Good Harbor, Diamant's other well-known novel, has also been challenged because of its references to religious conversion. Diamant countered, however, that the book is based on interviews with people who've converted. These people's stories, she said, may be complicated, but they deserve to be told.

Before writing her novels, Diamant worked as a professional journalist. She began writing novels because she wanted a new challenge. In addition to her two novels, she has written six handbooks on Jewish life.

"These lifecycle books have followed my life in a way," Diamant said. "I've written about marriage, babies, parenting, conversion, an intro to Judaism, and saying Kadish [the Jewish memorial prayer]."

Diamant is currently involved in several endeavors. A book of her essays, entitled Pitching My Tent: On Marriage, Motherhood, Friendship and Other Leaps of Faith, is coming out this fall. Diamant is also in the process of writing a novel set in the 1800s in rural Massachusetts.

In addition, Diamant is involved in a project called "Mayyim Hayyim: Living Waters Community Mikveh and Education Center." This project involves the construction of a mikveh, a Jewish ritual bath, in Boston. "We wanted to change the atmosphere of mikvehs in the greater Boston area and broaden their uses," Diamant said. "It's part of the reinvention of Judaism in the 21st century."

Both organizers and the audience were pleased with Diamant's talk. Many returned to the Hillel center afterwards to enjoy dessert and to chat with or have their books signed by Diamant.

"We were extremely pleased with the turnout," said senior Dena Wigder, a co-chair of the Jewish Women's Collective at Hillel and one of the organizers of the event. "I thought her lecture was wonderful and raised a lot of important issues about women in Judaism, women in religious texts, and women in society at large."

When asked what advice she would give to aspiring authors at Tufts, Diamant responded to read as much as possible and to write as much as possible. "There's never been a better time to be a women writer," said Diamant. "And there's never been a better time to read women's writings."

Diamant's talk was sponsored by Hillel's Jewish Women's Collective committee.