Mima'amakim, the "Journal for Creative Writing on the Jewish Religious Experience" is hosting a poetry/prose reading at 6:00 PM on Sunday, November 11th, at The Washington Heights Congregation.

Mima'amakim published its first issue in May, 2000, under the leadership of founding editor and Rhodes Scholar Chaim Strauchler. It featured poetry and prose by religious Jews on several college campuses. Its second issue, due to be out by December, was headed by Sipai Klein, and features far more material from non-Yeshiva students than the previous issue; Jacob Marmer, the incoming editor, says that material for the second issue consists "almost half" of contributions from non-Yeshiva students.

The reading will feature a diverse array of presentations. At least three "adults" will be reading, among them the president of WHC, and a man who lived in Japan for three years, and will read haiku.

Mima'amakim has been a startling success, even without printing an issue for a full year, due to its website, www.mimaamakim.org. The website has received an incredible sixty hits per day, recently, and a total of five thousand since it was launched. Marmer credits the website with helping Mima'makim "spread out."

Furthering Marmer's expansion agenda, future readings are in the works, and Marmer hopes to host several at various locations before the third issue is published in May. One proposed future site is The Carlebach Shul.

Marmer sees the success of Mima'amakim, and the concomitant growing interest in literature dealing with religious Judaism, as an accomplishment that is beginning to rank with that of Shlomo Carlebach's achievements in music. "What we hope to do with literature is sort of what Carlebach did for music," says Marmer, adding that a religious utilization of literature is, "very much called for."