It’s hard to wrap my brain around the fact that I’ll be headed off to Pittsburgh in four days. My departure is not by far, the beginning of my journey, nor is this first entry to the blog. The project started over ten years ago when my sister discovered our third great-grandfather’s grave in a Jewish cemetery in Pittsburgh. The shock grew to curiosity and matured into a downright obsession. It fueled my family as we dug through family trees, old newspapers, and DNA itself.
In less than a month, I begin the second of a three year MFA program at the University of Arizona. In four days, I embark on a grant-funded adventure to explore my erased Jewish heritage. In the process, I’m hoping to understand a bit more about the “American Dream” and why my family chose to keep this part of our history a secret. More likely, I’ll be reminded that people are complex and world more so. But maybe I’ll learn a bit more about myself along the way.
Porter McDonald 