The Adult Education Committee of Cong. Rinat Yisrael is pleased to present Yehoshua November, Chasidic Poet, reading from his new book, “God’s Optimism,” on Shabbat, May 20, at 6:35 p.m.

Yehoshua November is the author of two acclaimed books of poetry, “God’s Optimism,” winner of the MSR Book Award and a finalist for the LA Times Book Prize, and “Two Worlds Exist,” a finalist for the National Jewish Book Award and the Paterson Poetry Prize.

In his poems, November tracks the shifting intersection of faith, daily life and poetry. In a 2010 interview with Ed Litvak for The Lo-Down, November stated, “I think it’s important to explore how most people, even if they look as if everything is in order, are facing challenges. Art that doesn’t express conflict always falls flat because it’s not true to human experience.” In a review of “God’s Optimism” for The Jewish Daily Forward, Eve Grubin observes, “November’s craft is elegant, with its simple imagery and confident end-stopped lines; however, what makes his writing stand out are his two years in yeshiva, which provide the poems with a spiritual foundation.”

His poetry has been featured on Garrison Keillor’s National Public Radio program “The Writer’s Almanac,” has won Prairie Schooner’s Bernice Slote Award and has been nominated for two Pushcart Prizes. In addition, his work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The Sun Magazine, Prairie Schooner, VQR and on National Public Radio. Mr. November teaches writing at Rutgers University and Touro College.