Adrienne Rich: Poetry and Politics
Speakers: Ruth Fainlight, Lynne Segal, Aoife Mannix Adrienne Rich was one of the most revered and influential American poets of the last century. In over 30 books of poetry and essays she championed the indivisibility of art and politics, offering a candid and brave articulation of feminism, sexuality, Jewish identity and civil rights. Her writing […]
Edmund De Waal: The Exiles Return
Speakers: Edmund De Waal, Erica Wagner Edmund De Waal, the ceramicist and acclaimed author of The Hare With The Amber Eyes turns a new page in his family’s story. He came to Jewish Book Week to present his grandmother’s novel, The Exiles Return. Elisabeth de Waal’s book follows four exiles as they return to Vienna […]
The Jewish Quarterly Wingate Prize 2013
Speakers: Diana Reich, Hephzibah Anderson,; Clive Lawton, Sam Leith Watch the judges of the 2013 prize, Diana Reich, Artistic Director of Charleston Festivals; Hephzibah Anderson, book columnist and author; Clive Lawton, educator, writer and broadcaster; Sam Leith, journalist and author, as they discuss and present the best in Jewish fiction and non-fiction from 2012 and […]
Fania Oz-Salzberger: Textline Not Bloodline
Speakers: Fania Oz-Salzberger, Miri Rubin Why are words so important to so many Jews? Historian Fania Oz-Salzberger discusses Jews and Words, which she wrote together with her father, the celebrated Israeli novelist Amos Oz. They roam the gamut of Jewish history to explain the integral relationship of Jews and words.
The $3 Trillion War
Speakers: Joseph Stiglitz, Misha Glenny The $3 Trillion War is a devastating reckoning of the true cost of the Iraq war – quite apart from its tragic human toll – which the Bush administration has estimated at $50 billion, but which Stiglitz and his co-author Bilmes show underestimates the real figure by approximately six times.
Parting Ways: Jewishness and the critique of Zionism
Speakers: Judith Butler, Jacqueline Rose Judith Butler’s Parting Ways: Jewishness and the Critique of Zionism recovers Jewish philosophical traditions to reinvigorate the discussion of co-habitation in Israel and Palestine, drawing on a tradition of principled non-violence. Using the work of Hannah Arendt, Walter Benjamin, Martin Buber and Primo Levi, amongst others, within a contemporary context, […]
Simon Schama: The Story of the Jews
Simon Schama presents a special preview of the book and documentary, The Story of the Jews, at Jewish Book Week. It describes an intellectual territory reaching from the Hebrews’ invention of a single God to Jewish responsibility for killing the saviour, to currents of dispossession, destruction and diaspora. The account takes in the birth of […]
René Braginsky’s Collection of Esther Scrolls
Speakers: René Braginsky, Emile Schrijver The Braginsky collection, recently exhibited in Amsterdam, New York, Jerusalem and Zurich, attests to these aesthetically rich and historically important books as bridges between generations and between Jewish and non-Jewish worlds. Braginsky discusses his approach to collecting, which started with a present for his son’s Bar Mitzvah and has continued […]
A.B. Yehoshua: The Retrospective
Speakers: A.B. Yehoshua, Jonathan Freedland One of the world’s most esteemed writers, A.B. Yehoshua, author of Mr. Mani and Friendly Fire, amongst others, discusses his latest novel, The Retrospective. This beautiful and meditative novel centres on an Israeli filmmaker who travels to Spain for a retrospective of his work. Whilst there, he sees a painting […]
David Miliband on Tony Judt and the Left
Speakers: David Miliband, David Aaronovtch The late Tony Judt was a towering historian of the 20th century and a fearless commentator on world affairs, including the demise of the Left after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Former Foreign Secretary David Miliband reflects on the challenges facing Europe now, in this conversation with David Aaronovitch […]
Faith Without Fear: The Chief Rabbi
Speakers: Jonathan Sacks In this valedictory lecture for Jewish Book Week, Sacks offers a personal reflection on his intellectual legacy, illuminating themes from his writing and a voracious appetite for reading. Timed for the publication of essays in his honour by global thinkers, this is a journey into the mind of a man of our […]
Naomi Alderman: The Liar’s Gospel
Speakers: Naomi Alderman, Giles Fraser Naomi Alderman, one of the most exciting writers of her generation, explores the inception of a religion in her latest novel. She unravels the story of Yehoshuah, a Jew who wanders Roman-occupied Judea giving sermons and healing the sick. One year after his death, four narrators – his mother, best […]