Robert Brustein
October 23 2006, 7:30 PM
Washington DCJCC
As founding director of the Yale Repertory and American Repertory theaters, Robert Brustein has supervised more than 200 productions. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the Theatre Hall of Fame, and has received two George Jean Nathan Awards for dramatic criticism. The drama critic for
The New Republic, Brustein is author of 14 books, including the just-released
Millenial Stages. He will discuss the development of American Jewish theater. Theatre J will present the world premiere of Brustein's
Spring Forward/Fall Back from October 19 to November 26 (www.dcjcc.org for more information).
Claudia Roden
November 14 2006, 7:30 PM
Washington DCJCC
"Claudia Roden is no more a simple cookbook writer than Marcel Proust was a biscuit maker," declares historian Simon Schama. In her seminal books on Middle Eastern and Mediterranean food, Roden weaves together memoir, history, anthropology, and recipes to tell the story of a culture through its cuisine. In
The Book of Jewish Food, we learn what the ancient Hebrews ate and that fish and chips was introduced to England by Portuguese Jews. Born in Cairo, Roden left at 15, after the Suez Canal crisis led to the confiscation of property and other attacks on the Egyptian Jewish community. She is the author of numerous books, including
A Book of Middle Eastern Food, The Food of Italy: Region by Region, and most recently, Arabesque:
A Taste of Morocco, Turkey, and Lebanon.
Listen to Claudia Roden's talk and demonstration on Mediterranean cuisine.
Moacyr Scliar & Ilan Stavans
December 12 2006, 7:30 PM
Washington DCJCC
"If the trials and tribulations of Latin America's Jewry might be found in a nutshell, it is in
The Centaur and the Garden," writes Ilan Stavans of Moacyr Scliar's most famous novel. The two writers discuss those "trials and tribulations," as well as the surprising joys awaiting readers of Latin American Jewish literature. Born in Porto Alegre, Scliar is one of Brazil's most distinguished writers. His other books include
The Carnival of Animals, Max and the Cats, and
Collected Stories. Ilan Stavans was born in Mexico City to Eastern European Jewish parents. He has spent much of his career exploring the connections between Jewish and Hispanic cultures—from Columbus to comic strips to the works of Borges and Kafka. His books include
On Borrowed Words: A Memoir of Language and
Tropical Synagogues.
Join us for an evening celebrating Latin literary culture with live music and great conversation!
Art Spiegelman
February 20 2007, 7:30 PM
Washington DCJCC
Art Spiegelman's parents wanted him to be a dentist, but he had other plans. Speigelman began drawing professionally at 16 and by the late '60s had became a major figure in the underground comics movement. In 1980, he founded the magazine RAW with his wife, artist Francoise Mouly. Originally serialized in
RAW,
Maus I: My Father Bleeds History appeared in book form in 1986, creating a sensation with its use of the comic strip form to deal with the horrors of the Holocaust. A second volume,
Maus II: And Here My Troubles Begin, followed in 1991.
Maus changed forever the perception of the graphic novel, earning Spiegelman a Pulitzer Prize and an exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art. Spiegelman's new book,
In the Shadow of No Towers, describes his experiences during and after the September 11 attack on the World Trade Center.
Sara Paretsky
March 13 2007, 7:30 PM
Washington DCJCC
Sara Paretsky published her first story in
The American Girl at the age of 11, but it wasn't until her 30s that she turned to detective fiction. "I loved detective fiction, but I was troubled by the way women were traditionally portrayed in that genre—they always seemed to be either evil or powerless." Paretsky's response was to create V.I. Warshawski, a tough, independent female private eye who has become one of the best known characters in crime fiction. Paretsky's novels include
Indemnity Only, Blood Shot, Blacklist, and
Fire Sale. Raised in eastern Kansas, where she and her brothers were the only Jewish kids in school, Paretsky talks about her Jewish upbringing and how it has informed her life and writing.