Joyce Sanderly is the author of the new novel Wild Irish Yenta. Her other books include the poetry collection The Shomer. Also an attorney, she lives in the Washington, D.C., area.
Q: What inspired you to write Wild Irish Yenta, and how did you create your character Patricia?
A: Wild Irish Yenta is set against a backdrop of a suburban Maryland reform temple, and explores interfaith marriage, misbehaving clergy, Biblical myth, and the beauty of religious traditions.
The novel was initially inspired by my own experience with the difficulty of finding clergy to officiate at my own interfaith marriage.
When my husband and I decided to get married, we agreed that we wanted to have a Jewish ceremony in Cleveland where I grew up and my parents still lived. My parents had remained members of Fairmount Temple, where I had been confirmed and studied from first grade through high school.
The temple was a very reform progressive congregation with an eminent head rabbi, Arthur J. Lelyveld. He was an outspoken advocate for social justice and civil rights and even went to Mississippi to help register black voters in 1964 where he was beaten up by segregationists. In any event I was looking forward to having Rabbi Lelyveld officiate at our marriage.
Well, easier said than done. I assumed that the very liberal Rabbi Lelyveld would be happy to perform the ceremony. But when I called to talk to him, I was informed that he would not even consider officiating at a wedding between a Jewish girl (no matter how nice) and a non-Jewish man (also no matter how nice and even if he was willing to commit to raising the kids Jewish).
I was highly insulted and hurt. I did eventually forgive Rabbi Lelyveld because he came to visit my parents in the hospital when they were sick. However, for a long time I remained furious at his refusal to perform our wedding ceremony.
And in case you are wondering, my husband and I did eventually find a rabbi to officiate at our wedding in Cleveland although not at a temple but at a hotel. My husband also had to take a Basic Judaism class.
Wild Irish Yenta’s plot begins when the body of custodian Roberto Gomez is found in Temple Israel’s parking lot. Patricia Weiss, nee Reilly, exchanges her suburban-mom sneakers for gumshoes to investigate the hit-and-run. An ardent new convert to Judaism, Patricia is grappling with her outsider status at the upscale Reform congregation.
For Roberto, the stakes had been much higher. He was struggling to be accepted by a new country and learn a new language. Inspired by her Irish-Catholic detective dad, Patricia is compelled to find out who-dun-it.
Why did I make the main character Patricia Reilly Weiss a Catholic-raised woman who converts to Judaism after she marries a Jewish cardiologist and his mother? Good question.
Rabbi Lelyveld’s refusal to officiate at my marriage ceremony made me feel like an outsider. I think everyone feels like an outsider at some point in their lives. The exclusion may be based on race, religion, ethnic identification, wealth, beauty, or social pecking order. I was made to feel like an outsider by my own religious community.
I felt like this book needed to be written from the point of view of an outsider. Patricia is trying to gain recognition from a community she already considers herself to be a member of, but she feels like she is being treated as an other, an outsider.
I wanted Patricia to have both an insider’s access and an outsider’s ability to troubleshoot when the seemingly simple death of a custodian evolves into both a potential crime and a threat to her beloved mentor Rabbi Deborah, who vanishes after she delivers a controversial sermon in support of interfaith marriage.
Q: How was the novel’s title chosen, and what does it signify for you?
A: The title of the book uses the word yenta. What is a yenta, you may ask. As with most Yiddish words, there is no precise English equivalent.
In the novel, Patricia’s buddy Brenda defines yenta as a wise and knowledgeable female who distributes essential information to parties who have a need to know, kind of an analog version of social media, a Jewish Facebook. A less complimentary definition of the term yenta might be “busybody.”
Eventually Patricia and her friend Brenda form the yenta patrol to investigate the death of Roberto and the disappearance of Rabbi Deborah at Temple Israel.
The novel’s complete title Wild Irish Yenta reflects Patricia’s Irish heritage. Hopefully the title presages the multi-cultural nature and humorous aspects of the book.
Q: The writer Michelle Brafman said of the book, “In Wild Irish Yenta, Philip Roth meets Agatha Christie, and the result is a page-turner that also explores the interlocking dynamics that exist within an interfaith marriage, a family, and a Maryland synagogue.” What do you think of that description?
A: I love Michelle Brafman’s description. My goal was to write a book that took a humorous and insightful look at marriage, insular suburban cliques, and the politics of religious institutions while poking fun at cultural stereotypes.
The novel interweaves biblical stories with question of contemporary concern. Can a nice Catholic girl find happiness with a Jewish cardiologist and his mother even if she converts? Can Patricia’s yenta patrol detect a connection between a custodian’s death and other troubling happenings at Temple Israel?
With so many readers searching for satisfying books in these challenging times, I hope that Wild Irish Yenta provides both an entertaining story and a fulfilling educational experience about comparative religion and the beauty of all religious traditions.
Q: Did you know how the story would end before you started writing it, or did you make many changes along the way?
A: I began drafting Wild Irish Yenta a number of years ago. Because of family and work obligations, I had to put the beginnings of the novel aside.
When I retired from the practice of law, I returned to the novel project and continued to revise the plot up until the book was accepted for publication. I also continued to research customs, doctrine, and biblical interpretations of various religions as well as aspects of securities and criminal law relevant to the plot.
I found formulating a plot for a full-length work of fiction to be challenging. I am a big fan of mystery authors, e.g., Laura Lippman, Megan Abbott, William Kent Krueger, Jonathan Kellerman, Michael Connelly, Tana French (Irish), Jane Harper (Australian), and Lianne Moriarty (also Australian). Faye Kellerman, Susan Isaacs, and Julia Dahl write Jewish-themed mysteries that add a layer of cultural complexity to their plots.
All these writers explore the multi-faceted relationships among family, friends, lovers, and enemies. Their novels delve into the psychological impetus behind their characters’ crimes. I find the interplay among characters and their motivations for crossing over the legal line to be fascinating.
I have attempted to follow in the footsteps of these authors in crafting a story that explores the dynamics within an interfaith marriage, a family, and a friendship, as well as the politics of religious institutions.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: I am taking a breather from novel-writing for a few months and concentrating on poetry. I am a Pushcart-nominated poet whose work has been recently published in Loch Raven Review, Clackamas Review, Slipstream, Dos Gatos Press, Atlanta Review, Folio, Delmarva Review, Peregrine, Sow’s Ear, Moment, Another Chicago, Lilith, and Common Ground, among others.
My poetry collection The Shomer was a finalist for the Blue Lynx Prize and a semifinalist for the Elixir Antivenom Award and the Codhill Press Award. I was awarded first place in the Dancing Poetry Festival, received an honorable mention in the Ginsberg poetry contest, was shortlisted for the O’Donoghue Prize, and awarded first place in Poetica’s Rosenberg competition
I am in the process of putting together a second poetry manuscript.
However, I already have a crime in mind awaiting the sleuthing skills of Patricia and Brenda. I plan to write Wild Irish Yenta Returns in the near future.
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: Everyone has a story to tell. And writing that story can be very rewarding. It’s just a matter of sitting down to write.
The story may be memoir, fiction, flash, poetry, essays, song, advice, influencing, video, TikTok, dance, whatever. You can journal, use a diary, write online, send letters to the editor and to family. The story is one that is important to you for any reason.
Perhaps you want to write a legacy for the next generation or not. The important element is the story should be what you want to write, not necessarily what you think your children or family would want or like. Do not let perfection stand in the way of progress. There are lots of classes and writers groups out there to support your writing.
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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