From the Coffee House of Jewish Dreamers collects the work of an unknown New York poet, who has been publishing for four decades in small journals and chapbooks. ... (show rest)

Isidore Century is an attorney living in New York City. His poems have appeared in Chelsea Review, Midstream, Borestone Mountain Poetry Awards 1976, Best Jewish Writing 2003, Jewish Currents and Jews.

The poems in this volume were written in many coffee shops in New York City over four decades. Mr. Century is grateful for the kindness and hospitality he has received over the years.

About himself, he says:

"I didn't know I was Jewish until I read my own poems.

"I study Torah, I go to shul on Shabbes, though I am not shomer Shabbes, nor keep kosher. I visit with friends, and cousins in Israel frequently. I am at home in Jerusalem. I love to daven at the Wall.

"One of the most rewarding and nourishing experiences in my life was working on Kibbutz Yiron, on the Lebanese border.

"Passover at the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens"

They do not serve matzah at the Terrace Cafe;
I have brought shmurah matzah,
a gift from the Lubavitchers
for past and future donations.
By some trick of tradition,
I am grateful I can afford to contribute,
yet feel guilty for not giving more.

I buy a side dish of tuna salad
to make a matzah sandwich.
It tastes of holiness and sin,
not unlike sweet and sour kosher Chinese shrimp.
I wonder if I'll get credit in the World to Come
for a half-mitzvah.
Can you be half-kosher for Passover?
Can you be half-Jewish?

Beyond the tulip beds a Black-crowned Night Heron
perches at the edge of the lily pond.
His crown is like a yarmulke,
his head, bent down close to the water,
shuckles, as though he is praying
to God for help to catch a goldfish swimming by.
I throw a few pieces of matzah towards him,
Manna from heaven!
He eats the matzah.
I eat my sandwich.
We're having a seder.

"Chayye Sarah"

It was such a secret,
you will not find not one midrash from it.
She couldn't cook!
An Eshet Hayil one hundred times;
she ran the household; she raised Isaac;
she did business with the caravans and Bedouins;
she was the sole breadwinner for the family;
she was some She!

But she couldn't fry an egg to save her life.
I did the cooking and I never told not one person.
For that mitzvah maybe,
an angel gave to me a recipe to make
noodle kugel
with dates and raisins and pistachio nuts.

From the river Egypt to the Great River
Euphrates
they heard from my kugel and everyone came to
Abraham's tent to buy.
It was like a restaurant, but no charge;
it is a gift from God, Abraham told them.
Those that asked who is God remained to be
Israelites.
Abraham liked to say
we were a tribe of questioners,
but if not for my kugel,
we would not become a nation.

Isidore Century reads 3 poems

How "Journey to Coney Island" came to be written

"Isidore Century is a wonderful poet. He writes of traveling to Coney Island; visiting Israel and returning there to the land of Yiddish in which he grew up; his father, who escaped from Poland and made his way illegally to the U.S., where he became an official in the Painter’s Union; and about his own reluctant and penetrating faith, 'I keep running from a God/in whom I do not believe/hoping he catches me.'

"His poems are brief stories: they’re funny, deeply observed, without pretension, written with a knowingness and rhythm of things old and new. Those related to Torah readings are poetic, original midrashim. He brings the figures of the Bible to Central Park, or places the poet in Egypt and service as Joseph’s valet and butler, adding his distinctive accent to the text."

The New York Jewish Week, 11/16/2007

"When I read the "Poems of Wonder and Wandering", I was awash in a sea of sadness and longing. Flip the book over and read ""poems of the weekly Torah Portions", and it is laugh out loud funny, full of tongue in cheek wit. It is the balance between sadness and humor, anger and joy, longing and acceptance, which make this collection such a treasure.

"Century's poems read like prose. They each tell a story, whether poignant or humorous. It is the story of a life, of a people, and a man. Please take the time to enjoy this collection."

reviewer hemlokgang on LibraryThing.com

"Poems of the Weekly Torah Portion offers a highly original slant on well-known Bible stories. The poems are light and often humorous, and will surprise readers already familiar with the traditional stories.

"Poems of Wonder and Wandering is an autobiographical account of Isidore Century’s life. Carefully chosen, expressive words bring the author’s experiences of life to life, from early childhood to later years of spiritual struggle on his way to self-discovery. The poems evoke strong emotions of remorse, confusion, wistfulness, and ultimately hopefulness, mingling and fusing past and present. It is easy to identify with these unexpectedly touching and haunting poems, regardless of your religious or cultural background. Many Yiddish words are used throughout, lending depth and authenticity to the poetry. A glossary of these words is included. Gevaldik!"

reviewer Librtea on LibraryThing.com