“Alicia Ostriker is one of my favorite poets and thinkers about poetry . . . You read her poems and instantly you are in the presence of a poetic mind that communicates a live-wire joy of senses—in a way that is both timeless and very much of this moment . . . Here she is, in all her glory, Alicia Ostriker guiding while inspiring.”
—Ilya Kaminsky, author of Deaf Republic and Dancing in Odessa

“In this erudite, eloquent collection, exhilarating in scope, Alicia Ostriker examines an eclectic range of subjects, from biblical narrative and midrash, to diverse American and European poets, to feminist theology. Demonstrating a mastery of multiple genres—poetry, essay, and drama—Ostriker dives into the depths of her own inner life. In writing that is always lucid, she answers Muriel Rukeyser’s famous call: Ostriker tells the truth of her life, and the world splits open.”
—Marcia Falk, author of The Sky Will Overtake You and The Book of Blessings

“Whether she’s commenting on the work of other poets, reclaiming the stories of biblical women through midrash and poetry, or seeking to restore the exiled Shekhinah to her rightful place, Alicia Ostriker’s writing is always challenging, provocative, and urgent. This varied collection gives readers a strong sense of the range and power of her work.”
—Judith Plaskow, author of Standing at Sinai and cofounder of the Journal for Feminist Studies in Religion

“With Turn It & Turn It, Alicia Ostriker has once again created a work that is both liberating and transformative. In her readings of other poets—including Dickinson, Rukeyser, and Stern—along with her readings of biblical stories, Ostriker uncovers meanings that would have remained trapped had it not been for her courage, imagination, and depth and breadth of knowledge. At the risk of saying something heretical, I’ll add that with this book of essays and poems, Ostriker adds another branch to the Tree of Life. Turn It & Turn It keeps that tree alive, and without that tree, we wouldn’t have the oxygen we need to breathe.”
—Richard Chess, author of Love Nailed to the Doorpost

“The trickster-mystic Alicia Ostriker has made a career of retrieving the repressed, and in this new book, she lays bare the treasures she has found.”
—Rabbi Jill Hammer, PhD, author of Sisters at Sinai and coauthor of The Hebrew Priestess

“In the middle of the journey through my copy of this book, it occurred to me that Alicia Ostriker is not only a poet who profoundly influenced my writing—she is also a major spiritual figure whose irreverently reverent ways profoundly influenced my very inner life. Then again, to quote Ostriker quoting Rukeyser, “Oh for God’s sake / they are connected / underneath.” I’m grateful for everything Ostriker writes and teaches, but this book, even by her standards, is a standout. It delves into matters of writing and spirit with humor, ease, erudition, and a lot of practical thinking around the very praxis of reading, writing, and living as a cosmic Jewish poet in this twenty-first century.” 
—Jake Marmer, author of The Neighbor Out of Sound

Introduction

• Replaying the Bible: My Emily Dickinson
• Muriel Rukeyser: Learning to Breathe Under Water
• Who’s Minding the Story?: Gerald Stern as Jewish Poet and Tragic Comedian
• Celan’s “Deathfugue” and the Eternal Feminine
• The Return of the Repressed: Women’s Poetry and the Sacred

II. Midrash and Multiplicity

• Fathers and Daughters: Jephthah’s Daughter and the Scream
• The Face of the Other: Sarah-Hagar Then and Now
• Miriam and Others: Biblical Heroines Lost and Found
• The Wandering Jewess: Feminism Seeks the Shekhinah
• Whither Exodus?: Movies as Midrash
• Biblical Poetry as Midrash?: The Song of Deborah
• The Manna at Our Feet: The Changing of Our Minds

III. Poetry and Performance

• Jephthah’s Daughter: A Lament
• The Lilith Sequence
• Eine Kleine Post-Purimspiel
• “An Interview with Alicia Ostriker” by Susan Rushing Adams, Sojourn, 2005