This event is free and open to all. Please consider making a donation to support our free programs and events from Ritualwell. This event will be recorded, and registrants will receive the recording.

Join us to celebrate the release of Cathleen Cohen’s new book of poetry, Sparks and Disperses. This book explores issues of fracture, healing, and creation; the challenges of poverty, isolation, and the pandemic; and how we can find meaning and joy through artmaking. She will be joined by poet Hila Ratzabi. After the reading, they will have a conversation on the artistic process, a Q&A, and an interactive writing prompt for attendees. All are welcome!

To order the book, click here. 

Cathleen Cohen was the 2019 Poet Laureate of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. A painter and teacher, she founded the We the Poets program at ArtWell, an arts education nonprofit in Philadelphia (theartwell.org). Camera Obscura (chapbook, Moonstone Press), appeared in 2017, and Etching the Ghost (Atmosphere Press), was published in 2021.

Hila Ratzabi’s poetry has been published in Narrative, Linebreak, Alaska Quarterly Review, The Adroit Journal, The Normal School, and other journals, and in The Bloomsbury Anthology of Contemporary Jewish American Poetry and Ghost Fishing: An Eco-Justice Poetry Anthology. She is the former editor-in-chief and poetry editor of Storyscape and holds an MFA in Poetry from Sarah Lawrence College. She is the Director of Virtual Content & Programs at Ritualwell.org, and lives in Oak Park, Illinois, with her husband and two children.

About Ritualwell
Ritualwell is the most extensive online resource that curates original Jewish rituals for Jews and fellow seekers. We publish rituals, ceremonies, prayers and poems to mark sacred moments in Jewish life. Through creating and sharing rituals, hosting Ritualwell Immersions (online learning experiences), curating an online Judaica shop and hosting Rabbi Connect, Ritualwell fosters a supportive environment for Jewish creativity, spiritual growth and discovery. Learn more at www.ritualwell.org.

Ritualwell is committed to offering an accessible space to our community members. We commit to:

1. Providing participants with all the session materials ahead of time
2. Providing automated captions on all live sessions
3. Providing subtitles for all recorded sessions
4. Using the chat function and read it aloud during the sessions
5. Asking for participant accessibility needs and doing our best to accommodate them. Please feel welcome to contact us at ritualwell@reconstructingjudaism.org.