How does the past shape contemporary Jewish experience in Canada? How does it feel to be Jewish today? These are the questions that inform Volume 1 of The New Spice Box, an aromatic blend of poetry, short stories, and creative non-fiction by writers who probe all matters Jewish.

Nora Gold dares to reconceive the biblical story of Joseph as Yosepha. For Seymour Mayne, an aunt’s comforter transported from Poland to the New World evokes a lost past. Chava Rosenfarb's Bergen Belsen diary takes us back to the almost unimaginable moment of liberation, while Yiddish is a vital force for Karen Shenfeld's father.

Across this collection, the past is given new life and meaning by authors who write from their Canadian experience and sensibility. This is a new window on Canadian Jewish writing: its vista is expansive and the view, unmatched. Come take a look.