| advertisement |
|
|
|
| A celebration of Jewish writing and ideas
|
|
|
|
| Page tools |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
The programme for this year’s London Jewish Book Week, which showcases new and established writers, promises to be ‘packed with variety’, organisers say.
Organised by The Jewish Book Council, the annual event running from February 25 to March 5 was set up to promote the reading of books on all aspects of Jewish thought and culture.
Events on offer will feature the likes of maverick director and writer Mike Leigh — whose session on February 26 is already sold out — and journalists Jonathan Freedland and Linda Grant. Organisers hope it will appeal to Jews and non-Jews alike.
Family and the commandments
This year’s themes are The Ten Commandments and Family Relationships, exploring moral, ethical and intimate influences on lives and literary works.
“We try to choose themes that will appeal to a wide audience,” explained Jewish Book Week director Geraldine D’Amico. “Everybody knows about the Ten Commandments — they are part of our Western culture whatever one’s religion — and Jewish Book Week wants to reach out beyond the Jewish community.
“We thought it would be interesting to question something we take for granted and see the different perspectives.
“The family theme came from observing the fact that, as I suppose in many other trades, writers seem to produce or attract writers.
“The interesting thing is understanding how these relationships evolve, how one fosters one’s personal voice in that environment and how the public and the private coexist.”
Potentially taboo
And speaking of private, festival organisers are not shying away from potentially taboo subjects.
The session entitled “Dangerous Writing?” brings together Naomi Alderman already hailed as the Jewish Zadie Smith whose debut novel Disobedience raises questions about homosexuality in an Orthodox environment, and Shalom Auslander whose collection of short stories, Beware of God, is described us ‘irreverent and funny’.
 We thought it would be interesting to question something we take for granted and see the different perspectives
| “The other controversial session will be Matches, about the experience of soldiers in the Israeli Army,” D’Amico added.
“Alan Kaufman, an American who had joined the IDF, will speak from experience.
“Ryan Craig, in his play What We Did to Weinstein, has already raised the issues of moral choice, justice and obedience [and] I think this could inspire a lot of debate.”
One of the highlights of the event, she said, is the reading of Israel Zangwill’s 1892 Anglo-Jewish bestseller, Children of the Ghetto, which described the poverty of London’s East End as well as the lives of the wealthy Jews in the West End.
“Our wonderful cast will bring up the voices from the East End and a Jewish London that does not quite exist anymore,” she said.
Jewish Book Week has been more and more successful over the years and features not only British contributors but those from Australia, Canada, France, Hungary, Israel, South Africa and America. D’Amico believes it has a momentum that single events do not achieve.
“London is a notoriously difficult place for literary events but Jewish Book Week has managed to draw huge audiences for the eight days of the festival,” she commented.
“It will be great for whoever is interested in stories and ideas, whatever their religion.”
For more information, visit www.jewishbookweek.com
|
|
 |
|