Marking October 7: Poetry, Reflection & Writing with Lesléa Newman
October 7 @ 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm EDT
Free
Wednesday October 7, 2026
1:00-2:00 p.m. ET
Please join the Ritualwell community on Wednesday, October 7, as we gather to mark this difficult day together through poetry, reflection, and writing.
We’ll be joined by acclaimed poet and author Lesléa Newman, who will share selections from her forthcoming collection, The Last Flame Last. This powerful suite of 18 poems responds to October 7 and the surge of antisemitism that followed.
Following Lesléa’s reading, we’ll have an opportunity to pause, reflect, and write our own responses. No writing experience is necessary—just a willingness to be present, listen, and make space for what this day brings up for us.
This gathering is open to all.
Lesléa is generously donating a portion of her royalties from the book to Beth Israel Congregation, to support their efforts to rebuild both their temple, which was damaged in an arson attack, and their faith in the kindness of strangers. Preorders are especially meaningful: they will help determine the book’s initial print run and royalty rate, which in turn will determine the size of the donation. You can preorder The Last Flame Last from Finishing Line Press.
This event will be recorded and sent to participants. We encourage live attendance for you to get the most out of the experience.
Lesléa Newman has created 90 books for readers of all ages including the memoirs-in-verse, I Carry My Mother and I Wish My Father; the novel-in-verse, October Mourning: A Song for Matthew Shepard; and the children’s books, Something Sweet: A Sitting Shiva Story; The Babka Sisters; Joyful Song: A Naming Story; Ketzel, the Cat Who Composed; and Heather Has Two Mommies. She has received two National Jewish Book Awards, two American Library Association Stonewall Honors, am Association of Jewish Libraries Sydney Taylor Body-of-Work Award, a poetry fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Massachusetts Book Award. From 2008 – 2010, she served as the poet laureate of Northampton, MA.
