Mishkenot Writers Festival Report 2014

Transcription

The Fourth International Writers Festival,
Mishkenot Sha'ananim Cultural Center
18-23.5.2014
The Jerusalem Foundation
Strengthening Jerusalem as a pluralistic, vibrant, modern and attractive city
Mishkenot Sha’ananim Cultural Center
The Mishkenot Sha'ananim Cultural Center is one of Jerusalem's most active and high caliber
institutions, distinctively located in the picturesque and historically significant Mishkenot
Sha'ananim neighborhood across from Jerusalem's Old City walls. The center was founded by
the Jerusalem Foundation in 1973 as part of efforts to restore and renovate the Mishkenot
Sha'ananim and Yemin Moshe neighborhoods and continues to be one of the Foundation's
flagship projects. The Mishkenot Mishkenot Sha'ananim Cultural Center consists of a thriving
programming department, the Konrad Adenaur Conference Center, the Dwek Gallery, a
guesthouse for artists and scholars and the Jerusalem Center for Ethics. Housed in a
combination of new buildings and buildings from over 150 years ago, Mishkenot is a center
for Israeli and international culture that contributes to the global cultural discourse by
merging a universal worldview with the unique cultural inspiration of Jerusalem and Israel.
Set in the heart of Jerusalem – a multifaceted yet complex city that serves as a meeting point
for diverse religions and sects – Mishkenot Sha'ananim offers a refreshing openness that
permeates the center and informs its day to day activities. Those who spend time at the
center, whether at the guesthouse or at one of numerous activities or conventions, take its
unique energy with them to their daily lives in Jerusalem, Israel and abroad. The center seeks
to initiate and host diverse activities with a new and refreshing approach, serving as an
incubator for international cultural programs and providing e a dynamic creative space for
Israeli and international artists.
The 4th International Writers Festival
Israel is highly regarded on the international literature scene and hosts an array of book fairs
and encounters between local and international writers. Until six years ago, however, when
the Mishkenot International Writers Festival was first established, Israel's literary calendar
lacked an international gathering for leading local and international writers. In 2008,
Mishkenot hosted the first International Writers Festival, a week-long event that brought
together prominent local and international writers, translators and literary researchers for a
week of events, panels and discussions. Mishkenot has since hosted three such festivals,
including the 4th International Writers Festival, which took place between the 18th and 23rd
of May, 2014. The Festival was organized by Mishkenot's programming department in cooperation with the Jerusalem Foundation and cultural institutions operating in the vicinity of
Mishkenot Sha'ananim.
Held every two years, the Mishkenot Writers Festival is geared towards diverse audiences,
including: scholars, students and members of the general public who participate in a
combination of book-readings, panel discussions, film screening and writing and translation
seminars. Young and emerging writers, translators, literary editors, literary scholars, literary
critics, publishing house representatives participate in the Festival.
In 2014, esteemed American author Nicole Krauss served as the co-artistic director of the
Festival, and was actively involved in inviting authors from Israel and abroad, and in putting
together the artistic vision of the Festival.
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www.jerusalemfoundation.org
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The following international writers took part in the Festival:
David Foenkinos (France), Maria Kodama (Argentina), Michael Konyves (Canada - U.S.),
Nicole Krauss (USA), Nam Le (Vietnam - Australia), Reuben (Ruby) Namdar (USA), Laura
Restrepo (Colombia ), Marilyn Robinson (U.S.), Jan-Philipp Sendker (Germany),
Jake Wallis Simons (UK ) and Ayelet Waldman (USA)
The following Israeli writers took part in the festival:
Amos Oz, A.B. Yehoshua, Meir Shalev, Etgar Keret, Yehudit Katzir, Dorit Rabinyan, Noa
Yadlin, Haim Be'er, Nir Baram, Sayed Kashua, Lihi Lapid and many others.
Festival Highlights:
In 2014, 4,538 people participated in more than 50 events at the Festival, more than 1,000
more than in the previous one. This year, the Festival covered a broad range of topics,
including the roles and
responsibilities of writers in an era
of political change; contemporary
literature, Jewish identity and the
Holocaust; the future of literature
in the digital age and the widening
social gap in Israeli literature.
Events were held at very facilities
within the Mishkenot center,
including the Konrad Adenaur
Conference (Fostel Hall, the Gilbert
de Botton Auditorium and
Djanogly Hall), the Dwek Gallery
andTerraza de los Reyes de
España, where the Festival tent
was constructed alongside an outdoor bookshop and the Children's Pavilion in the Windmill
Courtyard. Sessions were also held at the Cinematheque and Confederation House.
90 Years Since Yehuda Amichai's Birth
This year, the Festival celebrated the birth of legendary Israeli writer Yehuda Amichai, who
lived in the neighborhood of Yemin Moshe, just seconds away from Mishkenot Sha'ananim. An
entire day of the Festival featured special events in his memory, including writing workshops
for high-school students based on his works, activities in the Children's Pavilion inspired by
his poetry, a tour of Yemin Moshe in the footsteps of Yehuda Amichai and a festive musical
performance featuring readings and performances by members of his family, musicians,
writers and members of Knesset.
"ReCover" Illustration Exhibit at the Dwek Gallery
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As part of the "ReCover" exhibit, Israeli illustrators took book covers of novels created by
writers at the festival and reinterpreted them. Thirteen Israeli illustrators participated in the
project, which was on display in the gallery for a few weeks after the Festival followed by Beit
Ariela, the central public library Tel Aviv, in conjunction with Israel's first ever Illustration
Week. The exhibit was unveiled at a special event on the opening evening of the Festival.
Curator: Yuval Sar
Documentary Film Screenings
On each day of the Festival a documentary was screened about the life of a famous writer.
Films included "Philip Roth: Unmasked" about the life and works of Philip Roth; "Writing as I
Should," an intimate portrait of writer and critic Batya Gur and "Dedicated to My Wife," about
S.Y. Agnon and his complicated relationship with his family.
Children's Literary Pavilion
One of the aims of the Festival is to
encourage an appreciation of literature
among children and teens. On each day of
the festival, activities were held for
children such as story theater, children's
shows and creative workshops.
Literary Tours
On each day of the Festival tours were
held on literary themes, in conjunction
with the Israel Museum, S.Y. Agnon House
and the Yad Ben-Zvi Institute of Studies.
The tours included:
1) "The Storyteller Observes – A Writer in the Israel Museum." A tour of the Israel
Museum with writer Assaf Inbari and Israel Museum curator Daniella Shalev.
2) "Israeli Art and More through the Prism of Amichai's Poetry." A tour in the Israel
Museum in the footsteps of Yehuda Amichai.
3) "The Secrets of S.Y. Agnon's Library." A glimpse at the treasures in Agnon's study.
4) "In the Footsteps of Great Writers and Travelers." A tour of Yemin Moshe and
Jerusalem through the eyes of Mark Twain, Judith Montefiore, Selma Lagerlof and
others
5) "I want to Live in the In-Between Jerusalem." A tour inspired by Yehuda Amichai.
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The Festival held a joyous closing event,
featuring Israeli writer Etgar Keret and
Israeli musician Shlomi Shaban.
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The International Writers Festival
Mishkenot Sha’ananim, Jerusalem
1 8 -2 3 . 5 . 2 0 1 4
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18.30-19.30 / ReCover Exhibition –
Opening Event
Israeli illustrators reinterpret books
covers by festival writers
Curator: Yuval Saar
09.30-11.30 / “Words are Stairs”
High School students encounter the
poetry of Yehuda Amichai
“Yehuda Amichai – Poetry and Images” –
a literature class with Agi Mishol
Writing Workshops with: Ariel Levinson,
Gilad Meiri, Agi Mishol, Hava PinhasCohen, Bacol Serlui
Dwek Gallery, Mishkenot Sha’ananim
Free entry
19.30-21.00 / Fourth International
Writers Festival Opening Ceremony
In the presence of the honorable Minister
of Culture & Sport Mrs. Limor Livnat, the
Mayor of Jerusalem Mr. Nir Barkat and
many prominent writers.
MC: Ola Shor-Selektar
Festival Tent, Terraza de los Reyes de España,
Mishkenot Sha’ananim
By Invitation only
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12.00-14.00 / Daily Show
Philip Roth: Unmasked
Documentary on the life and work of
the writer Philip Roth
Written and directed by: William Karel
and Livia Manera
Language: English, English subtitles
“My life with Philip Roth”
Remarks by: Prof. Michael Kramer
The event will be held in English
Auditorium, Mishkenot Sha’ananim
16.00-17.30 / The Storyteller Observes
- A Writer in the Israel Museum
Israeli identity between dream and
reality. Israel Museum tour with the
writer Assaf Inbari and Daniella Shalev,
Israel Museum curator
Meeting point: Israel Museum, main
entrance
16.30-18.00 / The Writer: Passive
Observer of Reality or Active
Participant?
The writer’s roles and responsibilities
in an era of political change
Participants: Oudeh Bisharat, Gail
Hareven, Nam Le (Vietnam-Australia),
Jan-Philip Sendker (Germany)
Moderator: Michael Mertes, Konrad
Adenaur Stiftung, Israel
The event will be held in Hebrew and
English with simultaneous translation
Festival Tent, Terraza de los Reyes de
España, Mishkenot Sha’ananim
Admission is free, but advanced registration
required by telephone:
02-6292215 or email [email protected]
In cooperation with Konrad Adenauer
Stiftung, Israel
17.30-18.30 / Writing Here Writing There
Shimon Adaf meets Alex Capus
(Switzerland)
Djanogly Hall, Mishkenot Sha’ananim
18.00-19.30 / Jews Now Contemporary Literature and Jewish
Identities in Transition
Participants: Matan Hermoni,
Miron C. Izakson, Reuven Namdar
Moderator: Tsila Hayun
Music: Erez Lev Ari
19.00-20.00 / Bad Mother – Good
Mother
On literature, writing and maternity
Participants: Lihi Lapid,
Ayelet Waldman (USA)
Participating Moderator: Prof. Yoram
Yovell
Eshkol Nevo meets David Foenkinos
(France)
20.00-22.00 / Novels on Screen
Screening of “Headhunters”
Director: Morten Tyldum
Ticket purchase from the Cinematheque:
02-5654333
Cinematheque 1, Cinematheque Jerusalem
20.30-22.00 / A Tribute to Jorge Luis
Borges
Borges and Me
Prof. Ruth Fine in conversation with
Maria Kodama (Argentina), Borges’ life
partner and executor of his estate
Prof. Leo Corry: “The Book of Sand,
The Books of Babylon, Google Books”:
Reading Borges and finding our way
through the labyrinth of the digital text.
Music: Argentinean Tango: Efrain
Scheinfeld
The event will be held in Hebrew and
Spanish with simultanious translation
21.00-22.00 / Let’s Talk
Roni Kuban in conversation with
Sayed Kashua
22.00-23.00 / The Art of Hearing
Heartbeats
Gabi Nitzan meets Jan-Philip Sendker
(Germany)
Music: The Ron ‘Shpatz’ Cohen
Ensemble: Ron ‘Shpatz’ Cohen Bansuri, Oren Rot - Tabla Drum, Yael
Shmul - Tanpura
Accompanied by Warm Chai and cold
Jerusalem air - dress warmly
The Windmill, Mishkenot Sha’ananim
The event is for high school students only
To enroll groups call: 0523745606 or by e-mail
[email protected]
12.00-13.30 / Daily Show
Writing as I should
A Documentary. Beautiful, intimate
portrait of writer and critic Batya Gur
through a patchwork of conversations with
the late, acclaimed author, her family, and
close friends.
Editor in Cheif: Pony Brzezinski
Language: Hebrew with English subtitles
The character of the detective in Israeli
literature
Remarks by: Dror A. Mishani
16.00-17.30 / Israeli Art and More
Through the Prism of Amichai’s Poetry
Wandering through the Israel Museum in
the Footsteps of Yehuda Amichai
Guide: Ella Elbaz
Meeting point: Israel Museum main entrance
Assaf Gavron meets Nam Le (VietnamAustralia)
18.00-19.30 / Literary Tour
"I Want to Live in In-Between
Jerusalem"
A tour inspired by Yehuda Amichai
Guide: Efrat Campagnano
The institute of Jerusalem studies Yad Ben-Zvi
Meeting Point: The Lions fountain, Bloomfield
garden
18.00-21.00 / The Last Mikveh
in Siberia
A literary get together followed by an
open seminar hosted by Eshkol Nevo
and guests, on his new book: "The Last
Mikveh in Siberia"
Moderators: Nir Amit, Noam Dan,
Ariel Levinson, Judith Rotem, Sarah
Segal-Katz
Music: Oy Division
Assaf Talmudi - Accordion and Vocals,
Eyal Talmudi - Clarinet, Avichai Tuchman
- Contrabass, Gershon Leizerson - Violin
and Vocals
Confederation House
In cooperation with the Secular Yeshiva,
Jerusalem
18.00-19.00 / “Every Loving Women is
Rachel and Leah”
The Bible in the poetry of Yehuda Amichai
with Bilha Ben-Eliyahu
19.30-20.30 / "60 Kilograms of Pure
Love"
Love in the poems of Yehuda Amichai
With Ronny Someck
20.00-21.00 / A Literary Salon
Dorit Rabinyan talks to Judith Katzir
about love and woman in her book “Tsila”
Music: Alma Zohar
Writing Books, Writing Films
From Page to Screen, and Everything
In-Between
With: Etgar Keret and Michael Konyves
(USA)
The evening include a screening of their
short film “Goldfish”
Screening of: “Barney’s Version”
Director: Richard J. Lewis
Screenplay writer: Michael Konyves
Ticket purchase from the Cinemathque: 025654333
21.00-22.30 / “Between Two Points”
Celebrating 90 years of Yehuda Amichai
Singing from Amichai’s poetry: Assaf
Amdursky and Israel Gurion - Singing the
Dudaim, Maya Belsitzman, Ania Bukstein
Readers: David Amichai, Emanuella
Amichai, Ron Amichai, Judith Katzir, Dorit
Rabinyan, Rubi Rivlin, Ronny Someck,
Shelly Yachimovich
Host: Dror Keren
Musical Director: Ron Almog
Music: Doron Mizrahi - Guitar, Ron
Almog - Drums, Itamar Gross - Piano, Miki
Varshai - Contrabass
Producer: Einat Besser
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12.00-13.30 / Daily Show
Dedicated to my Wife
Documentary on the writer S.Y. Agnon and
his complicated relationship with his family.
Testimonies from the lives of Agnon’s
family.
Director: Ita Gliksberg
Part A
Courtesy of the Israeli Tele-broadcasting
archive, Channel One.
This is the whole story: On S.Y. Agnon
Remarks by: Dr. Ruhama Albag
11.00-12.00 / A Different Kind of
Encounter– Literature and Gaga
Choreographer and artistic director
Ohad Naharin and Nicole Krauss (USA),
discuss the language of writing and the
language of movement.
Accompanied by examples of “Gaga”
language invented by Ohad Naharin.
The secrets of S.Y. Agnon’s library
A glimpse at the treasures of the work
desk of the greatest Hebrew writer of
modern times: What did Agnon read?
Who influenced him? Who are the writers
and poets who sent him their works? Who
dedicated their books to him? What do his
handwritten notes and bookmarks tell us?
Told by: Amiad Shlezinger, Librarian, S.Y
Agnon House
Meeting point: The Square in front S.Y. Agnon
house gate
17.00-18.30 / Quiet Writing
Intimate writing workshop hosted by
Orit Gidali, Eshkol Nevo and graduates of
“Home Workshops”.
Workshop 1: How to Write Real Lies?
Moderators: Orit Gidali and Eshkol Nevo
How should we use material from real
life in our writing? What makes the text
“real” and when do we need to part with
biographical truth and take off into the
story?
Workshop 2: The Character in Focus
Moderators: Keren Eyal Melamed and
Ilana Zaidman
An exciting encounter with tools to help
you create original and unforgettable
characters
Fostel Hall, Mishkenot Sha’ananim
Workshop 3: Notes in the Western Wall
Moderators: Roni Gelbfish and Lior
Engelman
Wandering with words between fear and
faith, between doubt and experience.
Learning to write about the hidden
yearnings you could not put into words.
The Seminars Hall, Mishkenot Sha’ananim
Workshop 4: That Time
Moderators: Sarai Shavit and Idan
Greenberg
How to use memory and emotion as a
triggers for the writing process.
The Small house, Mishkenot Sha’ananim
No previous writing experience necessary.
18.00-19.30 / Telling A Story in the 21st
Century
Diagonal on stage
What will writing look in the future?
Hosted by “Alaxon” (Diagonal), a digital
magazine of science, philosophy, culture
and the arts.
Participants: Alex Epstein, Eran Hadas,
Renana Raz, Ayelet Waldman (USA).
Moderator: Dov Alfon
18.00-19.30 / The Holocaust as an
Existential Experience in the 21st
Century
Contemporary literature confronts
the Shoah
Participants: Esti G. Haim, Nava Semel,
Jake Wallis Simons (UK), Prof. Carlo
Strenger
Moderator: Tal Bashan
19.00-20.00 / Writing Jam
A writing event led by Eshkol Nevo and
Orit Gidali
In one hall, for 60 minutes, we’ll write about
passions (ours and others), we’ll read, listen
and above all, awaken inspiration from its
sleep.
No previous writing experience necessary but
curiosity is essential.
Please bring pen and paper with you.
20.00-21.00 / Writing Here – Writing There
A.B. Yehoushua meets Nicole Krauss (USA)
Moderator: Shmuel Rosner
The event will be held in Hebrew and English
with simultaneous translation
David Foenkinos (France) about his book
“La Delicatesse” (“Delicacy”)
Screening of “La délicatesse”.
Directors: David Foenkinos, Stephane
Foenkinos
Ticket purchase from the Cinemathque:
02-5654333
20.30-22.00 / Sapir Gems
Our pain – Sapir Prize nominee and
laureates discuss the widening social gap
in Israel and in contemporary literature
Participants: Ayelet Gundar-Goshen, Yishai
Sarid, Noa Yadlin
Moderator: Yuval Elbashan
in cooperation with the Sapir Prize for literature
awarded by Mifal HaPayis, the National Lottery
22.00-23.30 / “Night birds” are Nesting on
the Festival Stage
Imagination – sci-fi writing in Israel,
reality vs imagination and the creating of
new worlds.
Moderators and speakers: Nir Baram and
Sarah Blau
Guests: Lea Aini and Ofir Touche Gafla:
Sci-fi and mystic writing – what lays beyond
realism?
Haim Be’er: On Jewish mysticism,
imagination and dream
Prof. Eilam Gross: The scientific side of the
impossible
Music: Luna Abu Nassar
Look for The Festival Book Store and Cafe
Tickets:
*6226
www.writersfestival.co.il
Program is subject to changes
11.00-12.30 / Daily Show
“Yoram Kaniuk, Author”
A documentary about the writer, painter
and publicist Yoram Kaniuk
Director: Ran Tal
Language: Hebrew with English subtitles
The Journey that Begins at the End
Remarks by photographer Iris Nesher
In the footsteps of great writers and
travellers
Jerusalem through the eyes of Mark Twain,
Judith Montefiore, Selma Lagerlof and
others
Guide: Talia Ziskind
The Institute of Jerusalem Studies, Yad
Ben-Zvi
Meeting Point: The Windmill, Mishkenot
Sha’ananim
16:30-17:30 / Writing Here – Writing There
Avirama Golan meets Marilynne
Robinson (USA)
17.00-18.00 / A Literary Salon
Emuna Alon meets Amos Oz to discuss his
book “Jews and Words.”
Yossi Sucary meets Jake Wallis Simons (UK)
The event will be held in Hebrew and English
Ronit Matalon meets Laura Restrepo
(Colombia)
Moderator: Shiri Lev-Ari
The event will be held in Hebrew and Spanish
19.00-20.00 / Let’s Talk
Meir Shalev meets General Noam Tibon
to talk about “Two She-Bears” and other
animals.
Haim Be’er meets Jan-Philip Sendker
(Germany)
The event will be held in English and Hebrew
Ayelet Waldman discusses her book “Love
and other impossible missions” which was
adapted into a film, “The other women”.
Screening of “The other women”
Director: Don Roos
Ticket purchase from the Cinematheque:
02-5654333
David Grossman meets Nicole Krauss
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10.30-12.00 / Master Class
Michael Konyves (USA) on the art of
scriptwriting for screenplay writers and for
everyone
12.30-14.00 / Closing Event
Etgar Keret and Shlomi Shaban singing,
reading and talking in a special one off
performance
Entry from 12.00 noon
Chil dr en’s Lit er at u r e Pav ilion
The Writers Festival will host storytelling, theater presentations,
creative workshops and other activities for children and families at
the Windmill Site at Mishkenot Sha’ananim. The Children’s Pavilion
will be open Monday to Thursday between 16:00-19:00.
Monday, May 19th
Theatre Show: 17.00 “End of Story”
Ages 4-12
Zoolik Productions
Creative Workshops: 16.00-19.00
Booklets workshop  Necklaces/ Strings
workshop
Tuesday, May 20th
A day dedicated to Yehuda Amichai: "In
the sky of the Old City A kite.
At the other end of the string, A child..."
Story Time Theatre: 16.30 | 18.00
"Numa's Fat Tail"
With the storyteller Shlomit Dvir
Ages 4-10
Creative workshops inspired by
Amichai’s poem “Jerusalem”: 16.0019.00
Net workshop  Wind kites workshop 
Drawing workshop  In cooperation with
Ruth Youth Wing for Art Education, Israel
Museum
Wednesday, May 21st
A Story in Pictures: 16.30 | 18.00
“With Color and Brush I Tell it all”
With the children's book illustrator Nurit
Zarfati
Ages 4-7
Creative Workshops: 16.00-19.00
Pencil holders workshop  Necklaces/ Key
chains workshop
Thursday, May 22nd
Story Time Theatre:16.30 | 18.00
“Once There were no Books”
With Valerie Chikli, “Rainbow” Theatre
Ages 4-8
Creative Workshop: 16.00-19.00
Book Stickers Workshop  Pencils
Decorating Workshop
Feast your eyes: Jerusalem
International Writers Festival about to
kick
Featuring both familiar and unfamiliar names, next
week’s festival provides a thoughtful and creative
feast for serious readers.
By David B. Green | May 16, 2014
Would that it were possible to buy a pass allowing entry to every event in the Fourth
Jerusalem International Writers Festival. The biennial festival, which opens to the
public on Monday, May 19, and runs through Friday, will bring together more than
40 writers, from both Israel and abroad, in some 50 separate literary events – oneon-one and panel discussions, presentations of music, dance and cinema, and even
walking tours inspired by Jerusalem homeboys S.Y Agnon and Yehuda Amichai.
Some of the participants are big stars, even celebrities – and if you’re a fan of Nicole
Krauss or Ayelet Waldman, the two most prominent examples of this, you don’t
need my recommendation to go see them. Chances are you bought your tickets as
soon as the festival program was published, several weeks ago.
The program can be viewed at http://www.scribd.com/doc/223344925/CompleteFestival-Program. Most of us will find, however, that a perusal of it will give rise to a
lot of question marks, as many of the participating writers, particularly those from
abroad, are far from being household names, either in Israel or in the Englishspeaking world. Yet, the thoughtfulness and creativity of the programmers means
that behind those unfamiliar names, almost every serious reader will find events that
speak to his or her interests. I will try to touch on some of them here, since a global
pass to all the events isn’t an option.
For the record, though, Nicole Krauss, best-selling author of “The History of Love”
and, more recently “Great House,” will be appearing in one-on-one sessions with
A.B. Yehoshua and David Grossman (Wednesday at 8 P.M. and Thursday at 9 P.M.,
respectively), and will also talk Gaga with Ohad Naharin, the creator of that
“movement language,” on Wednesday at 11 A.M. Considering that Krauss had a
session with Amos Oz, the third member of Israel’s literary holy trinity, at her first
festival appearance six years ago, she probably couldn’t ask for more regal treatment
than this. (Oz, by the way, will make a lone appearance, talking about “Jews and
Words,” the 2012 book he wrote with his daughter, Fania Oz-Salzberger, in a
conversation with columnist and novelist Emuna Elon, Thursday, 5 P.M.)
In contrast, Ayelet Waldman will be slumming it as she returns to her city of birth.
Her latest novel, “Love & Treasure,” published earlier this spring, deals with the
repercussions of Nazi looting of the property of Hungarian Jews, and she has also
written both essays and fiction about motherhood. She is scheduled for a joint
session (Monday, 7 P.M.) called “Bad Mother – Good Mother,” with Lihi Lapid, Israeli
newspaper columnist and the author of “Woman of Valor,” an unorthodox memoir
that deals in part with the challenge of having a child with a severe disability
(autism).
Waldman will also speak at a screening of the film “The Other Woman” (Thursday, 8
P.M.), which was based on her 2006 novel “Love and Other Impossible Pursuits.”
What’s more, Waldman will take part in a session at 6 P.M. on Tuesday, moderated
by Dov Alfon and dedicated to discussing the writing of the future. Alfon, the former
editor-in-chief of Haaretz, and before that of the book publisher Kinneret, ZmoraBitan, has for the last year edited the Hebrew website alaxon.co.il, a nonprofit
journal offering both original and translated articles about science, art, philosophy
and more.
Someone who has been thinking about the potential of the Internet for about two
decades, Alfon says his panel will be looking more at questions of content than of
form. He explained that he asked Waldman to be on his festival panel because,
although she is a “classical writer” in her books, she also has an outspoken presence
on Twitter, where she responds with lightning speed, and sometimes devastation, to
whatever has her attention at the moment. She will be joined by Israelis Alex
Epstein, writer of short short stories, poet Eran Hadas and actress-choreographer
Renana Raz: All of them, says Alfon, “work with new [digital] language that wouldn’t
have been available 20 years ago.”
Writers as social critics
Two other timely panel discussions will examine the role of the fiction writer as
political and social critic, and ask whether that role is or should be changing. On
Wednesday evening at 8:30, lawyer, novelist and social activist Yuval Elbashan will
talk with novelists Noa Yedlin, Yishai Sarid and Ayelet Gundar-Goshen.
Yadlin’s novel “Ba’alat Habayit” (“House Arrest”), which won this year’s Sapir literary
prize, is a searing critique of what presumes to be Israel’s liberal and enlightened
Ashkenazi elite. Sarid’s latest book, “Naomi’s Nursery,” deals with a Tel Aviv nursery
school threatened with closure by a real estate shark who has bought the land it
stands on. And Gundar-Goshen’s recent novel, “Waking the Lions,” portrays the
uneasy relations that can develop between Israelis and the Africans who slip across
the border in search of asylum. Their conversation with Elbashan – who believes that
literature has an obligation to offer a social critique, and that here in Israel, it has not
always lived up to that obligation – should be hot.
A more international perspective on a similar question should be evident in a
discussion – “The Writer’s Role and Responsibilities in the Era of Political Change” –
to be led by the Adenauer Foundation’s Israel director Michael Martes (Monday,
4:30 P.M., with free admission on advance registration). Martes, himself a lawyer
and a literary translator, will speak with Palestinian-Israeli Odeh Bisharat, who
among other things is a columnist for this paper; Jewish-Israeli novelist Gayil
Hareven; Nam Le, a Vietnamese-born writer who arrived in Australia as a baby; and
Jan-Philipp Sendker, a German journalist who has published two novels whose action
alternates between the U.S. and Burma.
Speaking with Haaretz the week before the session, Martes said he had just had an
email exchange with one of his panelists about the question of the writer’s
“responsibility.” His correspondent, he says, proclaimed that “My answer will be that
the writer’s responsibility is to write good books, full stop. As far as political
responsibility is concerned, it’s no different for a lorry driver, or dentist, or any other
citizen.”
Three other thematic panels worthy of mention: A Monday session (6 P.M.), with
panelists Matan Hermoni, Miron Izakson and Reuven Namdar, will take on the
formidable subject of the changing Jewish identity in literature. Hermoni is the
author of the acclaimed 2011 Hebrew novel “Hebrew Publishing Company,” about
the turbulent lives of Yiddish writers after their immigration to New York in the early
1900s. Izakson is a prolific Hebrew poet, novelist and teacher. Namdar, an Israeli
living in New York, is the author of the recently published “The House that Was
Destroyed” (in Hebrew), which chronicles a year – from one Yom Kippur to the next
– in the life of a New York academic who seems to have everything going for him.
Leading that panel will be Tsila Hayun, the festival’s programming director, who
deserves much credit for assembling the diverse range of choices described in this
article.
On Wednesday at 6 P.M., journalist Tal Bashan will host a conversation about the
perpetually relevant topic of the place of the Holocaust in 21st-century literature.
Joining her will be Israeli novelists Nava Semel and Esti G. Haim – both of whom have
dealt in their work with the implications of the Shoah for succeeding generations;
psychologist-philosopher (and Haaretz columnist) Carlo Strenger, and British writer
Jake Wallis Simons, whose novel “The German English Girl” is about a Jewish girl
saved by the Kindertransport from being murdered (he is profiled on page 10).
Later that evening, at 10, novelists Sarah Blau and Nir Baram will lead a conversation
about science-fiction literature and writing about mysticism, accompanied by music,
with Haim Be’er, Ofir Touché Gafla, Lea Aini and Eilam Gross.
One-on-one sessions
Among the visiting writers who will be paired in hour-long conversations with local
colleagues are Marilynne Robinson, Jan-Philipp Sendker, Nam Le, David Foenkinos,
Alex Capus and Laura Restrepo. Robinson, who will speak with Avirama Golan, is
author of “Housekeeping,” the Pulitzer Prize-winning “Gilead” and “Home.” She is
the kind of figure we don’t often have the opportunity to encounter in these parts.
Golan, who admits she hadn’t read Robinson’s work before being asked to host her
on the festival stage (an example of Tsila Hayun’s intuition at work), says that she’s
looking forward to the encounter, as “Marilynne Robinson is as far from me as one
could imagine: Not only because she is American, but also because her literature is
very Christian, and it’s a different kind of Christianity than I have ever known. She’s a
Calvinist! She is deeply involved with religion and God and justice,” in ways that
Golan claims she herself is not. I am certain their conversation will be riveting.
Jan-Philipp Sendker has written two interconnected novels about two
generations of a Burmese family living in the United States, and their secrets and
mysteries. He will be hosted by Haim Be’er. Nam Le, whose parents fled Vietnam
when he was three months old and took refuge in Australia, left a job as a corporate
lawyer in Melbourne, to study writing at the Iowa Writers Workshop, before
publishing a much-acclaimed book of stories, “The Boat.” He will speak with Assaf
Gavron.
Foenkinos, who will be in conversation with Eshkol Nevo, is a prolific Parisian
novelist (one of his books is the wonderfully titled “The Erotic Potential of My
Wife”), whose 2009 “La Delicatesse” (“Delicacy”) sold 800,000 copies in France and
was made into a film starring Audrey Tatou, which the author wrote and directed
with his brother Stephane. (On Wednesday at 8 P.M., David will speak at a screening
of the film at the Cinematheque.)
Swiss writer Alex Capus, who will speak with Shimon Adaf, is the author of the newly
published (in English) “Almost Like Spring,” a novel that centers around the true
story, from the 1930s, of Switzerland’s most notorious pair of bank robbers. Laura
Restrepo is a Colombian novelist whose work engages with history, politics and
social issues – real and imagined. She will converse with Ronit Matalon and journalist
Shiri Lev-Ari.
Additionally, a special session, on Monday evening at 8:30, will be devoted to a
discussion of Jorge Luis Borges, in which Ruth Fine will speak with Maria Kodama and
Leo Corry. Fine is a professor of Spanish literature at the Hebrew University, Corry a
mathematician and professor of the history of science who has written extensively
on Borges, while Kodama was the visionary writer’s assistant and also, at the end of
his life, his wife, before becoming the executor of his estate, and ruffliing feathers
with the changes she made in the translation and publication of his works.
The preceding recommendations don’t presume to be comprehensive: There are
many other events set for the festival that are no less worthy than those described
so concisely above. So, please look at the program.
Still, I would be remiss not to also mention the series of events planned to
commemorate the 90th anniversary of the birth of Yehuda Amichai. Fourteen years
after his death, he continues to be the Israeli poet who, both in the original Hebrew
and in translation into so many languages, speaks to the hearts and minds of readers
young and old, erudite and simple, Jewish and non-Jewish, worldwide.
Amichai, of course, lived in Yemin Moshe, the residential quarter adjacent to the
festival venue, Mishkenot Sha’ananim, and his memory still hovers ethereally, but
with constancy, over his neighborhood and city. To honor him, the festival is offering
an Amichai walking tour; sessions about biblical themes and about love in his poetry,
hosted by Bilha Ben-Eliyahu and Ronny Someck, respectively; and a big event,
Tuesday at 9 P.M., including music and readings, with participants as diverse as Haim
Gouri, Assaf Amdurski, Sheli Yacimovich, Reuven Rivlin, Dror Keren, and Amichai’s
three children, Ron, David and Emanuella.
Some of the participants are big stars, even celebrities – and if you’re a fan of Nicole
Krauss or Ayelet Waldman, the two most prominent examples, you don’t need my
recommendation to go see them.

Mishkenot Writers Festival Report 2014

Transcription

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