# Shekhinah Speaks: Poems-In-Conversation and a Conversation

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnL71AnElLU
Recap page: https://rapidrecap.app/video/OnL71AnElLU

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## Quick Overview

Joy Ladin's new poetry collection "Shekhinah Speaks" explores the feminine imminent aspect of the divine by fusing language from the Book of Isaiah and Cosmopolitan magazine, creating a voice that intimately knows and loves the human "you" while challenging perceptions of self, time, and mortality.

**Key Points:**
- Joy Ladin's "Shekhinah Speaks" features 21 poems, one for each Hebrew letter, that give voice to the feminine imminent aspect of the divine by combining source texts from the Book of Isaiah and Cosmopolitan magazine.
- Ladin structured the book in three sections, progressing from the Shekhinah speaking to an unaware human "you," to convincing the "you" of her intimate knowledge and desire for action, and finally to encouraging commitment to a continuous relationship.
- Ladin's creative process involved "mushing" chunks of text from Isaiah and Cosmo, aiming for "discourse fusion" where distinct language realms combine into a single utterance, reflecting the Shekhinah's transcendent and imminent qualities.
- The Shekhinah's voice in the poems aims to evoke a "fear of being seen" and "totally known and still totally loved," challenging the human "you" to accept profound intimacy with the divine.
- Chase Berggrun's book "Red" is an erasure of Bram Stoker's Dracula, which Berggrun created during their gender transition and active alcoholism, finding the process clarifying.
- The Shekhinah offers a perspective on death as a human attachment to a limited viewpoint, stating, "you're all alive at every moment to me you're the one who's attached to death you're experiencing it as death because you're attached to this kind of perspective whereas you could identify with me because i am you so why are you choosing to live life under the of mortality when you could just realize that you're a part of this constant aliveness."

**Context:** Claire Schwartz, culture editor of Jewish Currents, hosts a conversation with poets Joy Ladin and Chase Berggrun. Ladin discusses her new collection, "Shekhinah Speaks," which explores the feminine divine through a unique blend of biblical and pop culture texts. Berggrun shares insights into her book, "Red," an erasure of Bram Stoker's Dracula. The discussion delves into their creative processes, the concept of "trans poetics," and the challenges and revelations of working with appropriated language to give voice to complex identities and divine perspectives.

## Detailed Analysis

Joy Ladin's "Shekhinah Speaks" is a poetry collection that embodies the feminine imminent aspect of the divine, the Shekhinah, through 21 poems, each corresponding to a Hebrew letter. Ladin uniquely crafts these poems by fusing language from the Book of Isaiah and Cosmopolitan magazine, aiming to create a divine voice that is both transcendent and intimately connected to human experience. The book is structured in three sections: initially, the Shekhinah speaks to a human "you" unaware of her presence; then, she attempts to convince the listening "you" of her deep, internal knowledge and encourages action for justice; finally, she seeks commitment to an active, continuous relationship. Ladin describes her process as moving beyond "idolatry" (imposing her own ideas of God) by allowing the Shekhinah's voice to emerge through "discourse fusion," where disparate textual elements combine into a coherent yet multi-layered utterance. This method, which Ladin found terrifying, required her to put herself in the position of the "you," experiencing the "fear of being seen" and "totally known and still totally loved" by the divine. Chase Berggrun, in conversation, discusses her own book, "Red," an erasure of Bram Stoker's Dracula, which she created during her gender transition and while grappling with alcoholism, finding the appropriation process clarifying. Both poets explore how language can represent beings that traditional structures do not easily accommodate, such as trans identities or divinity, emphasizing the dynamic and intimate nature of tradition and source material. The conversation highlights the Shekhinah's non-human perspective on time and mortality, viewing human attachment to death as a limited viewpoint, and asserting a constant aliveness.

### Introduction to "Shekhinah Speaks"

- Joy Ladin's new poetry collection "Shekhinah Speaks" gives voice to the feminine imminent aspect of the divine, the Shekhinah
- The book features 21 poems, one for each letter of the Hebrew alphabet
- Ladin draws from an "unlikely combination of source texts": the Book of Isaiah and Cosmopolitan magazine

### Thematic Structure of "Shekhinah Speaks"

- The first section depicts the Shekhinah speaking to a human "you" who is unaware of her presence, urging them to listen
- The second section shows the Shekhinah knowing the "you" is listening, trying to convince them of her intimate knowledge and motivating them to "burn for justice"
- The final section explores the Shekhinah's attempt to convince the human "you" to commit to an active, continuous relationship, akin to a marriage

### Creative Process and "Discourse Fusion"

- Ladin initially aimed to "play god" but realized this was "idolatry," leading her to seek a divine voice through the text
- She felt "given this idea of mixing words from isaiah with words from cosmo," initially skeptical but confirmed by a Cosmo article resonating with Isaiah's "barren one" quote
- Ladin's method involved "mushing" chunks of text and listening for an authentic voice, which she identified when it evoked "fear of being seen" and the experience of being "totally known and still totally loved"
- This process aligns with "discourse fusion," where words from distinct realms combine into a single utterance while retaining their unique energies

### The Shekhinah's Perspective on Humanity and Time

- The Shekhinah's voice is "not human" and exists "outside human time," seeing past, present, and future simultaneously
- She offers a comforting yet challenging intimacy, as in "stillborn": "sometimes i stagger you with terror but i also cover your body with flowers"
- The Shekhinah views human attachment to death as a limited perspective, asserting, "you're all alive at every moment to me you're the one who's attached to death"

### Chase Berggrun's "Red" and Trans Poetics

- Chase Berggrun's book "Red" is an "erasure of bram stoker's dracula"
- Berggrun created "Red" during her gender transition and while experiencing active alcoholism, finding the appropriation process clarifying
- Both poets explore "trans poetics" as techniques to represent "kinds of beings that language isn't designed to represent," including trans and non-binary people, and divinities