With humor, anger, and tenderness, Richard Michelson’s poems in his new book – Sleeping as Fast as I Can – explore the boundaries between the personal and the political—and the deep connections between history and memory. Growing up under the shadow of the Holocaust, in a Brooklyn neighborhood consumed by racial strife, Michelson’s experiences were far from ordinary, yet they remain too much a part of the greater circle of poverty and violence to be dismissed as merely private concerns. In this new collection of poems, Michelson pays tribute to his father, a victim of gun violence, and honors his mother’s surrender to dementia. Still, it is Michelson’s sense of humor and acute awareness of Jewish history, with its ancient emphasis on the fundamental worth of human existence, that makes this accessible book, finally, celebratory and life-affirming. Join us on May 18th at 10:00 AM PDT/1:00 PM EDT for a conversation with Richard Michelson about his newest book of poetry, his first full length poetry collection since 2015 (and his first book since winning the National Jewish Book Award for The Language of Angels in 2018).

Winner of the National Jewish Book Award and recipient of two Sydney Taylor Gold Medals from the Association of Jewish Libraries, Richard Michelson, author and art-dealer, was a close friend of Leonard Nimoy, represents his photography, and is the author of Fascinating: The Life of Leonard Nimoy. Richard Michelson’s many books for children, teens and adults have been listed among the Ten Best of the Year by The New York Times, Publishers Weekly, and The New Yorker; and among the best Dozen of the Decade by Amazon.com. Other credits include two Massachusetts Book Award Honors, three Skipping Stones Multicultural Book Awards, a Harlem Book Fest Phillis Wheatley Honor, a National Parenting Publication Gold Medal and an International Reading Association Teacher’s Choice Award. Michelson hosts Northampton Poetry Radio, and served two terms as Poet Laureate of Northampton, MA. He is the founder and owner of R. Michelson Galleries.

CSP Partners: Beth Israel (San Diego, CA), Brotherhood Synagogue (Gramercy Park, NYC), Congregation Adath Jeshurun (Elkins Park, PA), Congregation Beth Shalom (Seattle, WA), Congregation B’nai Tzedek (Fountain Valley, CA), Congregation B’nai Israel (Tustin, CA), Jewish Collaborative of Orange County, Shomrei Torah Synagogue (San Fernando Valley, CA), Temple Bat Yahm (Newport Beach, CA), Temple Beth David (Westminster, CA),Temple Beth El of South Orange County (Aliso Viejo, CA), Temple Beth Emet (Anaheim, CA), Temple Beth Ohr (La Mirada, CA), Temple Beth Tikvah (Fullerton, CA), Temple Beth Shalom (Needham, MA), Temple Beth Shalom (Santa Fe, New Mexico), Temple Beth Sholom (Santa Ana, CA), Temple Emanuel (Newton, MA), The Boston Synagogue (Boston, MA), Town & Village Synagogue (NYC, NY), University Synagogue (Irvine, CA), Valley Beth Shalom (Encino, CA) & Walnut Street Synagogue (Chelsea, MA)