Marcia Falk

(1946-)

Marcia Falk was born in 1946, on Long Island, New York. As a little girl Falk attended both public school as well as Hebrew school; developing a deep passion for poetry and biblical translations. She received a B.A. in philosophy from Brandeis University and a Ph.D. in English and comparative literature from Stanford. She was a Fulbright Scholar and post-doctorate in Bible and Hebrew literature at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. For the next fifteen years, Falk became a professor of Hebrew and English literature, Jewish studies, Bible, and creative writing at Stanford, the State University of New York at Binghamton, and the Claremont Colleges. In the 1980s, she began writing prayers that were used in Reconstructionist prayerbooks and feminist rituals.

In 1996, Falk released her innovative prayer book, The Book of Blessings: New Jewish Prayers for Daily Life, the Sabbath, and the New Moon Festival. This book attempts to reconstruct Hebrew and English liturgy in poetic forms. The book is intended to be responsive to both general readers and scholars.

In 2004, her verse translation of the biblical Song of Songs was released, entitled The Song of Songs: Love Lyrics from the Bible. Falk’s most recent book is The Spectacular Difference: Selected Poems of Zelda (2004), an English translation of the twentieth-century poet Zelda Schneurson Mishkovsky. Her other books include, With Teeth in the Earth (1992), This Year in Jerusalem, and It Is July in Virginia.

Sources: "Marcia Falk (1946 - )." American Jewish Historical Society, American Jewish Desk Reference, (NY: Random House, 1999). pg. 525.