“A Bride in the Forest: How I Got My Name” — Chapter One of The Button Thief of East 14th Street — has been published by Literal Latte, the venerable NYC literary journal! 

The opening paragraph appears below — click on the button to read the full story (offsite).

The name I’m called, Fay, comes from “Feygela,” little bird. My real name, the name my mother bestowed on me, is FeygaPinya. That double name belonged to newlyweds in Kovel near Kiev, in Tsarist Russia. They were cousins of my mother, one from each side of her family. They were modern Jewish socialists, idealists like Tolstoy, who supported the uprising of 1905 with fiery speeches, but they meant no harm to anyone. When the uprising failed they fled into the vast forest….

Cynthia Close of Vermont Woman interviewed Fay as part of a series of notable Vermont women in the arts, and the result was this delightful profile:

“Fay Webern: Writer, Storyteller”

The accompanying photographs on the release captured the dramatic aura and energy that Webern exudes: her regal, chiseled features and beautifully expressive hands commanded immediate attention. The images suggested that this woman was a natural performer and storyteller, a first impression that was confirmed when I later met her…

Cynthia Close, Vermont Woman