JGS of Illinois presents genealogy writing workshop
"Making the Dead Dance: How to Breathe Life into Your Ancestors" will be the topic of a workshop presentation by author S.L. (Sandi) Wisenberg at 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 22, at the Jewish Genealogical Society of Illinois meeting. The event will be at Temple Beth-El, 3610 Dundee Road, Northbrook.
The JGSI meeting facilities at Temple Beth-El will open at 12:30 p.m. to accommodate those who want to use or borrow genealogy library materials, get help with genealogy websites or ask genealogical questions before the main program at 2 p.m. For information, call (312) 666-0100 or visit jgsi.org.
In this workshop, Wisenberg will explain what strategies have worked for nonfiction writers who write about their ancestors. These writers have stuck to the facts, though they've allowed themselves a supposition or two.
Attendees are invited to bring information about one particular ancestor, especially photos, as well as questions. This session will be informal, with plenty of chances to ask questions and time for a few short writing exercises. Participants will leave with ideas for more research and new strategies.
"You've found the names, you've located the shtetl, or city, gone through ship manifests and census records - but all they add up to are names and dates on paper or in a computer file. How do you take the bare bones of someone's life and turn them into flesh and blood?" Wisenberg asks.
S.L. (Sandi) Wisenberg was named for her grandfather, Solomon Louis Wisenberg, who traveled from Kishinev in Moldavia/Moldova/Bessarabia to New York City to Macon, Georgia, to Laurel, Mississippi, to Houston, Texas. She has researched and written about him and other relatives, and is working on a nonfiction book about the American South, part of which is about her family.
She's the author of "The Sweetheart is In," a collection of short fiction; "Holocaust Girls: History, Memory & Other Obsessions," an essay collection; and "The Adventures of Cancer Bitch," an autobiographical and political chronicle.
Wisenberg has degrees from Northwestern University Medill School of Journalism and the University of Iowa Writers' Workshop.
The JGSI "help desk" will operate from 12:30 to 1:45 p.m. at each regular monthly meeting. Member volunteers will access online databases and answer genealogical questions one-on-one for members and visitors as time allows.
The JGSI library has more than 800 volumes of interest to Jewish family historians. Many are available for borrowing by JGSI members for a limited time. All are available for perusing from 12:30 to 1:45 p.m. at each regular monthly meeting.
For information about the Jewish Genealogical Society of Illinois or the JGSI schedule of future events, visit jgsi.org or call (312) 666-0100.
While this program is free, those who join the society have access to several members-only resources on the JGSI website. They include video recordings of a dozen presentations from past JGSI events, informational handouts from past speakers, access to past Morasha newsletters containing articles about Jewish genealogy, the syllabus from the 2015 JGSI conference, and more.
To learn more about the benefits of joining the Jewish Genealogical Society of Illinois, go to jgsi.org/membership_benefits.