After the death of the last witnesses, the remembrance of the Holocaust must not be entrusted to the historians alone. Now comes the hour of artistic creation.”

These words from Israeli Holocaust survivor and prolific author, Aharon Appelfeld, have been inspiring me anew lately. I read them in relation to my academic writing, especially when looking at more contemporary “art” for contemporary audiences. I also read them in relation to my creating writing and my novel, which tells of one potential aftermath of the Holocaust.

Tomorrow I really must squeeze in some more writing time. The weekend did get rather busy (although I did bang out an overly long introduction paragraph to my article, which, when cut down, should be a smashing way to begin it). Monday I’ll be busy again, including a couple of hours at the university library doing research. But research doesn’t count as writing.

Which brings me back around to the Appelfeld quote as inspiration, reminding me that what I do on a daily basis is important; in fact, it is a form of remembrance, however small.