One of my very favorite poems, recited by the poet himself.
I speak, of course, of “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,” presented by T.S. Eliot.
What a find. (via The Book Bench)
Have a great weekend, everyone.
I’m embarrassed to admit that my visit to the Museum of Jewish Heritage on Sunday was my very first to that incredible institution.
In addition to the permanent core exhibition, I wanted to see two temporary offerings: “Beyond Swastika and Jim Crow: Jewish Refugee Scholars at Black Colleges” and “The Morgenthaus: A Legacy of Service.” Each would have been well worth the trip (and admission) on its own.
I encourage everyone to go to the Museum and see these exhibitions themselves, but even a Web visit will provide much to think about.
P.S. It appears that a film quite related to “Beyond Swastika and Jim Crow” will be screened in DC as part of the Washington Jewish Film Festival on Tuesday, December 8.
Here’s a favorite from one of my own teachers, Richard Marius:
“All writers create. I am always annoyed to hear fiction and poetry called ‘creative’ writing as if writing that explains, describes, and narrates – nonfiction – should somehow be relegated to the basement of the writing enterprise to dwell with the pails and the pipes. To assume that only fiction and poetry are ‘creative’ is to imagine that fiction writers and poets are somehow superior to scholars, journalists, and others who report, explain, and describe. A good case may be made for the proposition that the most truly original and creative writers in our society today work in nonfiction – Tom Wolfe, Gloria Emerson, Roger Rosenblatt, Carl Schorske, Joan Didion, Joe McGinniss, John McPhee, Garry Wills, Robert Caro, David McCullough, Roger Angell, Barbara Tuchman, and a host of others.”
Source: Marius, A Writer’s Companion, first edition (New York: Knopf, 1985), 15.
The good news: Just yesterday, I found out about Kisufim 2009: The Jerusalem Conference of Jewish Writers and Poets (courtesy of the Foundation for Jewish Culture e-newsletter).
The bad news: Just yesterday, I just found out about Kisufim 2009: The Jerusalem Conference of Jewish Writers and Poets.
You see, this conference is slated for December 7-10, 2009. As in: next week. As in: way too late for me to arrange a trip to Israel around it. I have been very much focused on finding a literary-oriented event around which to plan my next trip to Israel, and this would have been fantastic.
Here’s a description of what I’ll be missing:
“The significance of Jewish creativity, in Israel and throughout the world, is increasing during a period characterized by a Jewish absence from post-Holocaust Europe. Also evident is the need for close, unmediated contact between contemporary Israeli and Jewish literature worldwide.
The conference provides a venue for an experiential encounter and for clarification of textual and cultural issues concerning the writer’s identity, focusing on questions such as the meaning of Exile today, the identity of text and place and the function of translation in a literary work with a Jewish identity and the change that Jewish literature has undergone from the Second World War and the establishment of the State of Israel to the present. It is no coincidence that the Hebrew acronym for this gathering is Kisufim (yearnings). Jerusalem has been the heart of yearning in Jewish literature for many generations. We have a special opportunity to continue the process that began in 2007 with the first Kisufim Conference by gathering for four days and nights at Mishkenot Sha’ananim and Beit Avi-Chai, with the participation of the best Jewish literary creators in today’s world, in various languages, to discuss literary works with a Jewish connection and identity.
This international meeting of Jewish creative writers encourages encounter between Israeli creativity – in Hebrew and other languages – and world Jewish creativity that is both multilingual and multicultural.
The Conference will include poetry and prose-reading evenings, workshops and meetings with poets and writers in various languages, as well as meetings among writers and poets who share a common language, such as Russian, English, French, Hungarian, Serbian and Spanish, from Israel and all over the world.
The Kisufim Conference seeks to elucidate and reinforce ties with various types of Jewish literature and increase public awareness of literary issues. By bringing together the creative and intellectual powers of Jewish writers, poets and publishers, wherever they may be, it reinforces mutual ties and increases translation efforts.
The international writers are: Miriam Anisimov (France), Jonathan Rosen (USA), Dara Horn (USA), Rodger Kamenetz (USA), Linda Grant (UK), Marcelo Birmajer (Argentina), Ilan Stavans (Mexico/USA), Emmanuel Moses (France) Robert Schindel (Austria), Esther Bendahan (Spain), Lucette Lagnado (Egypt/USA), Lisa Ginzburg (Italy), Geza Rohrig (Hungary/USA), Angel Wagenstein (Bulgaria), Alessandro Piperno (Italy) and Norman Manea (Romania/USA)
The list of Israeli writers include: Aharon Applefeld, Hava Pinhas-Cohen, Dov Elbaum, Nava Semel, Asaf Inbari, Michal Govrin, Yehoshua Sobol, Eli Amir, Rafi Veichert, Yoel Hoffman, Eshkol Nevo, Meron C. Izakson, Menachem Lorberbaum, Roni Somek, Yisrael Pincas, Itamar Yaoz-Kest, Tal Nitzan, Yisrael Eliraz, Haviva Pedaya, Admiel Kosman, Zeruya Shalev, Eyal Megged, Yochi Brandes, Hagit Grossman, Sabina Messig, Ori Bernstein, Anna Shomlo (Serbian), Linda Zisquit (English), David Markish (Russian), Peter Cole(English), Karen Alkalay-Gut (English)”
There’s a full program you can download at the site for further information.
Anyone going? Want to write a guest post for this blog? Please contact me if so.
Alan E. Steinweis, Professor of History and Director, Center for Holocaust Studies, University of Vermont, will speak about his new book, Kristallnacht 1938 (Harvard University Press), tomorrow (Dec. 1) at Harvard University. Check this event calendar for details.