Fictionalising The Holocaust
Speakers: Toby Haggith, Peter Filkins, James Libson ‘To write poetry after Auschwitz is barbaric.’ But despite Theodor Adorno’s dictum, dramatising the Holocaust has become a trend, in both books and film. Should the Holocaust, the nadir of humanity, be fictionalised? When we do dramatise the suffering, how should we approach it, and should any topics […]
A Celebration of the Life & Work of Eva Ibbotson
Speakers: Nicola Beauman, Amanda Craig and Marion Lloyd Eva Ibbotson was born in Vienna in 1925 and moved to England with her father when the Nazis came into power. Ibbotson wrote more than twenty award-winning books for children and young adults, notably Journey to the River Sea, The Dragonfly Pool and The Star of Kazan, […]
Travel Yearnings
Speakers: Yoel Finkelman For millennia, Jews have embarked on pilgrimages to holy sites, often creating and collecting beautiful and moving materials to document and remember these journeys. The treasures of the National Library of Israel include fascinating journals, maps, souvenirs and artefacts from pilgrimages to Jewish holy places across the centuries – from Benjamin of […]
The Walls Have Ears
Speakers: Helen Fry, Robin Lustig Helen Fry reveals the history of the elaborate WWII intelligence operation whereby Hitler’s generals were tricked into giving away Nazi secrets. Orchestrated by MI6 spymaster Thomas Kendrick from his headquarters at the Tower of London, German prisoners’ cells were bugged and listeners installed behind the walls to record their conversations. […]
When Time Stopped
Speakers: Anne Sebba, Ariana Neumann As a child in Venezuela Ariana Neumann was fascinated by the enigma of her father Hans. He seemed to be the epitome of strength but he also wakes at night screaming in a language she doesn’t understand, then she stumbles across an old ID where he has a different name. New York […]
Jerusalem: City of The Book
Speakers: Merev Mack, Simon Goldhill, Raquel Ukeles Benjamin Disraeli said, “The view of Jerusalem is the history of the world; it is more, it is the history of earth and of heaven.” Merav Mack presents Jerusalem as the locus where some of the world’s most enduring ideas were put into words, while Simon Goldhill provides […]
Howard Jacobson: Live a Little
Speakers: Howard Jacobson, Jenni Frazer Nonagenarian Beryl Dusinbery, forgetter of her own children and tormentor of her two longsuffering carers, meets the sprightly Shimi Carmelli, last of the eligible bachelors of North London. Shimi is prized for his ability to do up his own buttons, speak without spitting and walk without the aid of a […]
Mother Ship
Speakers: Francesca Segal, Susie Orbach After her twins were born at only 30 weeks, Francesca Segal sat vigil in the ‘mother ship’ of neonatal intensive care, all romantic expectations of new parenthood obliterated. In conversation with acclaimed psychotherapist, psychoanalyst and author Susie Orbach, Francesca talks about those heart-wrenching days amidst a band of fearless and […]
The Fashion Revolution: From Berlin to London
Speakers: Daniel Snowman, Michael Gee, Anna Nyburg, Uwe Westphal Nineteenth century Berlin was the creative centre for fashion and ready-to-wear clothing. Berlin’s clothing companies made modern apparel and developed new designs that were sold not only throughout Germany, but worldwide. But when Hitler came to power in 1933, the city’s mainly Jewish clothing industrialists were […]
The Heartless Traffic
Speakers: Jeremy Robson, Suzi Feay Jeremy Robson, described by The Times as ‘a champion of poetry’ selects the best of his poems from the early 1960s to his most recent collections, plus 50 new poems. A book about friendships with diverse figures from Ron Moody to Dannie Abse, of childhood haunts, Jewish roots, youthful passions […]
The Library of Exile: Edmund de Waal
Speakers: Edmund de Waal Prize-winning author and artist Edmund de Waal talks about his library of exile. “This library celebrates the idea that all languages are diasporic, that we need other people’s words, self-definitions and re-definitions in translation.” Edmund de Waal Edmund’s library comprises more than 2,000 volumes in almost all the languages of the […]
The New Age of Ageing
Speakers: Camilla Cavendish, Nicci Gerrard, Harry Mount We are living in an unprecedented age: this year marks the first time in human history that the number of people aged 65 and over outnumber children aged five and under. It is a tumultuous demographic shift. How will we address the ensuing challenges? How will we ensure […]