Yetzirah, described as “a hearth for Jewish poetry,” is a national nonprofit organization aimed at, as its website says, “supporting Jewish poets, nourishing writers and readers of Jewish poetry now and for generations to come.” Yetzirah, in Hebrew, means “formation.”
A Philadelphia chapter recently launched and has been holding meetings, retreats and other events.
The three co-chairs are Steven Kleinman, Amy Small-McKinney and Harriet Millan, all of whom are accomplished poets. Kleinman is the author of “Life Cycle of a Bear,” winner of the 2019 Philip Levine Poetry Prize, while Small-McKinney is the author of several books, most recently 2025’s “& You Think It Ends.” Milian has also authored multiple books, including “How Fast Can You Run.”
“They had their first inaugural conference in 2023,” Small-McKinney told Philadelphia Jewish Exponent in an interview, referring to the national organization. “And from them, local chapters like our own sprang up.” The Philadelphia chapter had its first meeting in the spring of 2024.
“Basically, it’s an organization to support and encourage Jewish poets, and that’s our main mission,” she said.
Does this mean poets who are Jewish, or those working on specifically Jewish topics?
“This is a question that comes up quite often,” Kleinman said. “Each of us has a slightly different answer to that question, but it is really to build community for Jewish poets. Some of our poetry is explicitly dealing with Jewish themes. I certainly have poems that do deal with Jewish themes, but I would say the majority of my work doesn’t.”
“The beauty of this is that there’s no litmus test for how Jewish you are,” Small-McKinney said. “We have observant Jews. We have very secular humanist Jews. What matters is that we all have some definition. We are Jewish, and we write poetry. And we’re there to support and encourage each other.”
Not everyone in the group is necessarily a professionally published poet.
“Philadelphia has a really rich poetry community and a really rich Jewish poetry community, and when we began, I think that we had some sense of wanting to start the group with people who had demonstrated a certain commitment to the craft, and at this point, we are kind of defining the poetry aspect as that it plays some role in your life. It doesn’t have to be a professional role,” Kleinman said.
“You’ve made some commitment beyond having read Shakespeare, but that can mean a lot of different things. Some of our members have really engaged with poetry as an educational tool. Some of our members have used poetry as an auxiliary to their spiritual work, to activist work. Some people are just artists who have poetry as a part of that practice.”
The group has been meeting about every other month, as well as having occasional salons, featuring readings. Members have also been holding a one-day writing retreat in the summer. In addition, they hold periodical sessions where members gather and write. About 15-20 people show up at a typical meeting, although of late, that has sometimes depended on weather.
“We’re still growing and evolving. And that’s why I love the idea of formation, because we’re still very much in process. But it’s exciting to watch us grow, and watch our members grow, as poets [and] as individuals,” Small-McKinney said. “Some of our members are rediscovering their Judaism. Others are very committed and have been a long time, but it’s a safe space that allows for all of that.”
Do the poets discuss controversial topics, like antisemitism or the Middle East?
“When we started, it was really important for us to have a space where people could test out their ideas and get feedback on some of the more, as you say, hot-button issues. And we continue to be a space for that to come up when it does authentically. I think at this point, more than anything, what we’re interested in is what our members are interested in.
So, if people want to talk about that, we talk about that. And if people don’t, then we don’t,” Kleinman said.
“And sometimes people want to come together, and that’s what they’ve been discussing at work for their last three or four months. And they want to catch their breath and be artists together. And so we’ll do more of that.”
What does the group have planned for the near future?
“One of our goals here is to really find a way to connect more with the community,”
Kleinman said. “We’re interested in collaborations … we’re really excited about how much growth is possible for our group.”
Those interested in participating in the group can visit yetzirahpoets.org/regional-chapters.
Stephen Silver is a Broomall-based freelance writer.