Virginia Avniel Spatz, a native of Chicago, lives and writes in Washington, DC.

Her first hometown was once home to Kiikaapoi, Peoria, and other peoples; her childhood neighborhood was “Urban Renewed” out of existence. Her adopted city, on Anacostan/Nacotchtank land, was “Chocolate City” when she and her husband arrived. More than three decades later, little of what drew them to DC remains. This experience helped inform Rereading Exodus on the Anacostia: Some Lessons of Cross River Dialogue.

Spatz is the author of The Great Kite, a book for all ages; Anacostia: Some Lessons of Cross River Dialogue; poetry, fiction, and journalism on a range of platforms. Previous work includes programming at We Act Radio and feature reports on Education Town Hall, Capital Community New “News, Views, and Pews,” and other publications. Her Jewish writing appears on “A Song Every Day,” in print at Living Text  (writing about/from within Bible stories), and at Rereading4Liberation.com.

She also maintains SayThisName (Marking DC Homicides; providing related resources) and produced several newsletters as a volunteer for Next Level Vision responses to gun violence.

Spatz has been active in Jewish communities, advocating for cross-denominational understanding and cooperation, but finds relationships shifting with the failure of so many Jewish communities to name let alone attempt to stop, Palestinian suffering…. Previous sentence written long before Sukkot 5784; the cognitive dissonance of trying to be a Jew amid the current cataclysm and denial of genocidal violence in our name continues to grow…. She helped coordinate the Washington Chapter of the AJC’s Women’s Interdenominational Leadership Dialogue and directed the local, cross-community Jewish Study Center for several years — which all seems ancient history how. You can find her these days at Tzedek Chicago.

Spatz and her husband have two adult children, graduates of DCPS high schools and years of homeschooling, who make their homes elsewhere. Other passions include alternative education, including homeschooling, public libraries and independent booksellers, and an abiding interest in Deaf culture fueled in party by work and study at Gallaudet University.