West Palm Beach Public Library Hosts Let’s Talk About It: Jewish Literature Program Series

Fawn Van Allen & Dr. Sanua

For the past 5 months we have been extremely privileged to host an outstanding program series, “Let’s Talk About It! Jewish Literature – Identity and Imagination,” at the West Palm Beach Public Library in West Palm Beach, Florida.

 

Hello, I am Esther Fawn Van Allen and it has been my honor to serve as the Project Director for this illuminating and entertaining program series.  We were very fortunate to be awarded a grant from Nextbook and the American Library Association to host this free, five-part reading and discussion program series, which explores Jewish literature and culture through scholar-led discussion of contemporary and classic books.  The theme for our series was “Your Heart’s Desire: Sex and Love in Jewish Literature,” and it has provided for insightful, witty, and thought-provoking discussions among our many enthusiastic participants.

Dr. Sanua Leads Discussion

 

Our distinguished scholar and discussion leader, Dr. Marianne Sanua, has led us in stimulating explorations of the 5 books which related well to the theme.  Our discussions showed that they resonated with us, touching on memorable events in our own lives, and evoking thoughts about our past, our own feelings, and relationships.  Dr. Sanua is Associate Professor of History and Jewish Studies at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton.  Dr. Sanua is winner of the distinguished FAU Researcher of the Year Award and the Sidney and Hadassah Musher Publication Prize, which is awarded by the National Foundation for Jewish Culture, for best dissertation in American Jewish history.  Among her numerous impressive credentials, Dr. Sanua is the author of several published books, one of which, Let Us Prove Strong: The American Jewish Committee, 1945-2006, published by Brandeis in 2007, received superb reviews in scholarly publications and was a finalist for the National Jewish Book Award.  With Dr. Sanua’s esteemed guidance, our program participants have increased awareness and appreciation for the 5 noteworthy books we read and explored:

• Portnoy’s Complaint by Philip Roth (Oct. 19, 2008 ) began our discussion series with a bang!  Philosophy, psychiatry, angst, childhood memories – a book which lent itself to intense discussion and many interpretations and insights.
• The Little Disturbances of Man by Grace Paley (Nov. 16, 2008 ) perfectly captures the humor of couplings in a bygone New York, with gutsy, sensuous women and the self-centered men who cause their disturbances!   Much opportunity for analysis of every sort, rousing dialogue, and some wistful trips down memory lane!
• A Simple Story by S. Y. Agnon (Dec. 14, 2008 ) provided a unique, comic approach to the intriguing question: Is it better to love the person you marry than marry the person you love?  Not so simple after all!
• The Lover by A. B. Yehoshua (Jan. 11, 2009) creates a love story that is as communal as individual, reflecting the travails of a newly created State as well as of the characters.  Serious and analytical views were discussed at this program, along with great recipes for gefilte fish from around the globe.  (You’ve got to read the book!)
• The Mind-Body Problem by Rebecca Goldstein (Feb. 8, 2009) proves to be the liveliest discussion of all!  This introspective, clever satire features Renee Feuer, a self-deprecating philosophy student at Princeton University who embarks on a series of raucous affairs, while analyzing her identity as “wife of a genius”, veering between hilarious anecdotes and philosophical ruminations on the nature of romantic interaction. Goldstein provides an implicit response to Freud and the classic male/female duality conflict. Our distinguished scholar Dr. Marianne Sanua is herself a Princeton graduate, so we look forward to some insider knowledge!  As always, the exchange of ideas is sure to be stimulating!!

 

I am happy to report that these programs have been extremely well-received and have attracted a total participant registration of 75 people.  We are indebted to Dr. Marianne Sanua for her engaging leadership, to Jeremy Dauber for his enlightening essays, and especially to American Library Association and Nextbook, a gateway to Jewish literature, culture and ideas, for these very successful grant-funded programs.  Evaluations from the participants have been highly favorable, and I would like to quote one participant:

“I want to thank the library not only for this course but for the display of relevant literature accompanying it.  This display has not only introduced me to literature I would otherwise not have known about but renewed my interest as a Jew in ‘the Jewish condition’.  Thanks, it has meant a lot and increased my pride in being Jewish.”

Esther Fawn Van Allen, Project Director

Beef Up Your Brain

I just read an amazing book – The Brain That Changes Itself  by Norman Doidge, MD.  I must admit, I am a little addicted to cook books and brain books, but nonetheless I highly recommend this read. 

Doidge covers many important figures in the neuroscience world and reveals just how plastic the brian is.  This is good news folks!  We can change the brain for the better!  This is also bad news – we can change the brain for the worse (i.e. bad habits are hard to break).  But really,  this is mostly good news because it gives us hope to overcome ailments such as dementia, stroke, brain injury, bad habits, depression, and more!

I found it fascinating that dancing (one of my favorite things to do) is also one of the best things that you can do for your brain!  Keeping your neurons firing requires activities that require genuine concentration (such as learning a new dance).  Dancing also has the benefits of warding off balance problems and maintaing social contact which also preserves brain health.

So, here’s my plug – come out to our FREE dance classes at the library!  During the months of January and February we will have free classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6:00 to 8:00 pm. 

Here’s the breakdown:

Tuesdays, January 20, 27 and February 3, 10, 17, 24 from 6:00 to 8:00 pm we will have American tango, hustle, bolero, variations, cha cha, and salsa (in that order).

Thursdays, January 15, 22, 29 and February 5, 12, 19, 26 from 6:00 to 8:00 pm we will have the Argentine tango!

So, come out to the library and beef up your brain!

See ya at the library,

Annya

Making a Difference

I was at the reference desk and a lady came and said she has just moved to the area and would like to be a member of the library.  I took her to the circulation desk and got her a new card. Her next question was, “Now tell me where your Russian book collection is”?

For a minute I thought maybe I would make this patron unhappy by telling her we don’t have a Russian book collection.

I am an Interlibrary loan librarian. I immediately explained it to her that we don’t have a Russian collection, but whatever she needs we can get it for her and I can printed a list of Russian titles.  She took that list from my hand, looked at me and asked can I get all these books? I said sure we can get all the books two at a time and she agreed. Since that day she is my favorite patron and I am her favorite librarian, did I make some difference in her life, the smile on her face can tell- yes I did.

- Manju