Shai Afsai

Shai Afsai (shaiafsai.com) lives in Providence, Rhode Island. In addition to fiction, poetry, and playwriting, his recent work has focused on the writings of Thomas Paine, Zionist historiography, "The bride is beautiful but she is married to another man" stories, Jews and Freemasonry, Benjamin Franklin’s influence on Jewish thought and practice, religious traditions of the Beta Yisrael Jewish community from Ethiopia, Jewish observance and identity in Nigeria, aliyah to Israel from Rhode Island, Jewish pilgrimage to Ukraine, Jewish-Polish relations, Jews and Irish literature, Judaism in Northern Ireland, and Micronesian perspectives toward Israel.

His articles, short stories, poems, interviews, book reviews, and photographs have been featured in a variety of publications and venues, including The Algemeiner, Ami Magazine, Anthropology Today, Arutz Sheva/Israel National News, CCAR Journal: The Reform Jewish Quarterly, CJ: Voices of Conservative/Masorti Judaism, Defenestration, Eternal Haunted Summer, Failed Haiku – A Journal of English Senryu, Fathom Journal, The Forward, Haaretz, haikuniverse, Heredom: The Transactions of the Scottish Rite Research Society, Hibiscus Masonic Review, Ibbetson Street, The Jerusalem Post, The Jerusalem Report, JewishBoston, Jewish Fiction .net, Jewish Ideas Daily, Jewish Link, Jewish Literary Journal, The Jewish Press, Jewish Quarterly, JewTh!nk, Journal of the American Revolution, Journal of Radical History, The Mainichi, Middle East Quarterly, Midstream: A Quarterly Jewish Review, Mosaic, New English Review, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, The Poetry Pea Journal of haiku and senryu, Providence Journal, The Public‘s Radio, PVDFest, Reading Religion, Review of Rabbinic Judaism, Rhode Island History Journal, Rhode Island Jewish Historical Notes, Rhode Island Public Radio, Scarlet Leaf Review, Segula: The Jewish History Magazine/סגולה: מגזין ישראלי להיסטוריה, The Shepherdstown Chronicle, Shofar: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Jewish Studies, The Square Magazine, Studies: An Irish Quarterly Review, Tablet Magazine, The Times of Israel, Underground Voices, and The Wisdom Daily.