Portia Elan on the Future We Choose
About this episode
Portia Elan shares her journey to Judaism and discusses her debut novel, Homebound, along with themes of community and responsibility.
Portia Elan tells us about her journey to become a Jew by choice after attending Friday night services and feeling that she had “come home.” We also discuss her fascination with the AIDS quilt as a child, and the beauty in finding queer elders in her synagogue. Portia also reflects on how she understands tikkun olam: rooted in how we care for others and in our responsibility to the balance of entire ecosystems. Portia Elan studied history at Stanford University and earned an MFA from the University of Victoria before returning to California, where she has worked as a waitress, bookseller, teacher, and public librarian. She is a former Lambda Literary Fellow and lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her wife and an abundance of cats. Homebound, Portia’s debut novel, is a clear-eyed, hopeful work of speculative fiction about humanity’s future and capacity for love. Homebound is a GMA Book Club pick and the latest selection for Nu Reads, the curated, bi-monthly book subscription service from Jewish Book Council. Homebound Portia Elan’s Five Books: Surprised by God by Danya Ruttenberg The History of Love by Nicole Krauss Cannery Row by John Steinbeck The Encore by Juliet Izon…
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