Anita
Diamant
grew up in Newark, New Jersey. Her family moved to Colorado when she was 12.
Anita Diamant attended the local University of Colorado for 2 years, but transferred
to Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, where she was awarded a BA in
Comparative Literature. No doubt this degree came in very handy in her later
writing career. She studied for her Master’s degree at State University, New
York. Anita Diamant then moved to Boston, where she started work as a freelance
journalist in 1975, and where she has lived ever since. She wrote for several
titles, including the Boston Phoenix, the Boston Globe, New England Monthly,
Yankee, Self, Parenting, and Ms. Anita Diamant has written several non-fiction
books: “The
New Jewish Wedding” (1985), “The New
Jewish Baby Book” (1988), “Living a
Jewish Life” (1993), “Bible Baby
Names” (1996), “Choosing a
Jewish Life” (1997), “Saying the
Kaddish, How to Comfort the Dying, Bury the Dead and Mourn as a Jew”
(1998), “How
to be a Jewish Parent” (2000), and “Pitching my
Tent” (2003).
Anita Diamant’s first novel, the glorious “The Red Tent”,
was published in 1997. It is based on Chapter 34 of the Book of Genesis, and is
the story of Jacob’s daughter, Dinah. This was followed by “Good Harbor”
in 2001, and “The Last Days
of Dogtown” in 2005.
Diamant finds a Harbor – Sara
Fiedelholtz’s interview for “Chicago Sun-Times” from 2002
Bookpage -
Ellen Kanner's interview with Anita Diamant
The Copperfield
Review – Faith L. Justice’s interview
Rebeccareads.com
– their interview with Anita Diamant
Anita Diamant - visit her homepage
Kevin
Patrick
Mahoney takes a look at the work of the author of “The Red Tent”:
The
Book of Genesis - the King James version of Dinah's story, and the
events in “The Red Tent”
The
Origin of Sin and the Queen of Heaven - Chapter One p. 15 - Anita
Diamant writes in Chapter One that Jacob's God El was "a consort powerful
enough for the Queen of Heaven", although we are used to seeing the
Biblical God as an irascible old man with a long white beard, and most
definitely single. This webpage mentions a lot of the Gods that Anita Diamant
refers to (so she didn't make them all up). The following page is also
relevant to “The Red Tent”, with its mentions of Leah and Rachel, Mamre, and
has photographs of
Teraphim, and Yahweh
and the Asherah is also relevant
Ninhursag -
Chapter One p. 15 - more about this godddess
Enlil or Bel
- Chapter One p. 15 - the Sumerian God of the atmosphere
Asherath
- Chapter One p. 15 - was another ancient God worshipped by the Hebrews, the original bread of
life
Ishtar
- Chapter One p. 22 - Jacob cries out to aa Sumerian goddess when he falls sick after
eating the food prepared by Leah.
Anath -
Chapter One p. 22 - was the Phoenician goddess of Fertility and Victory
Marduk
- Chapter One p. 22 - is another Sumerian god
Myth of
Innana - the goddess referred to on p. 29 Chapter One, who Inna is possibly
named after?
Astarte
- Chapter One p. 29 - the warrior goddess of Canaan
Elath - Chapter One p. 29 - the consort of El, aanother
name for Asherath
Baal
- Chapter Two p. 40 - son of El who becameee Beelzebub
bamah -
Chapter Two p. 49 - a definition
Gula, Goddess
of Healing - Chapter Three p. 69 - more about the goddess
Uttu -
Part Two Chapter One p. 94 - is mentioned in the Sumerian myth of creation
Nanna - Part
Two Chapter One p. 94 - more about the god of the moon
Ninhursag
- Part Two Chapter One p. 94 - the mother of the plains
"Uttu travelled north, where the fur-clad women were
so fierce they tore off a breast to ready themselves for an endless hunt" -
Part Two Chapter One p. 94 - a reference to the Amazonians?
Enhenduanna - Part Two Chapter One p. 95 - it's possible
that Anita Diamant may have misspelt Enheduanna, "the first
known author in world literature" was a woman.
Dumuzi's
wedding - Part Two Chapter One p. 96 - read an ancient account of this event
Carchemish
- Part Two Chapter Two p. 105 - and <Haran are places where Rachel
attended births
Nanshe -
Part Two Chapter Two p. 106 - interpreter of dreams and goddess of water
and fertility, Zilpah's beloved goddess - this is when Rachel decides to steal
the teraphim
Ur - Part Two
Chapter Two p. 107 - more about this ancient city
Ninkasi
- Part Two Chapter Two p. 108 - "t;Leah had a special feeling for
Ninkasi, the brewer of beer" - as do we all, amen.
Nintinugga - Part Two Chapter Three p. 145 - the
Mesmopotamian version of Gula
Ninisinna
- Part Two Chapter Three p. 145 - anoother version of Gula
Baba -
Part Two Chapter Three p. 145 - is also identified with Gula
Ningal
- Part Two Chapter Four p. 162 --- more about her
Anat -
Part Two Chapter Four p. 164 -- another form of Innana and Asherath
Coat
of many colors - Part Two Chapter Five p. 174 - the Bible says
that Jacob, not Rachel, made Joseph's famous coat
Tawaret
- Part Two Chapter Six p. 22207 - is an apt Egyptian goddess for
Dinah
Lamashtu -
Part Two Chapter Six p. 209 - evil Mesopotamian goddess
Lillake - Part Two Chapter Six p. 2209 -
apparently the first wife of Adam in the form of Lilith
Nakht-re, Re-nefer and Re-mose do not seem to be
mentioned in history, so must be inventions of Anita Diamant. Re-mose's
name seems to be suggestive of Moses, but apparently, 400 years passed between
Joseph's death and the exodus from Egypt
Bes -
Part Three Chapter Two p.. 287 - another Egyptian god of
childbirth
Hathor,
Goddess of Love, Music, and Beauty - Part Three
Chapter Two p. 287 - is doubtless the Golden Lady Hathor that
the sistrum-player refers to
Egypt
Calendar - Part Three Chapter Three p. 322 -
mentions the seasons like akhit, perit, and shemou
Zafenat Paneh-ah - Part Three
Chapter Four p. 342 - according to the Bible, Joseph's name - Zafenat
Paneh-ah - was actually Zaphnathpaaneah
"Simon and Levi, also born of Leah, were murdered in
Tanis when I was a baby" - Part Three
Chapter Five p. 375 - I can find no mention of this in the Bible
The Rise and Fall
of the Jacobite Rebellion - Part Three
Chapter Five p. 378 - 'Jacobite' seems to have had various
meanings throughout history
