The Jewish Humanist, May_June 1997, Vol. XXXIII, Number 10
Andre Aciman. Norman Cantor. Sonya Friedman.
Three good reasons for coming to the first Birmingham Temple Book Fair. They will be speaking.
A new special weekend experience is on the Temple and community calendar. A spring book fair will debut in the very same place where our quite wonderful autumn art show takes place.
Why a book fair?
Why not? Celebrating Jewish literature and humanistic literature is a natural for Humanistic Jews, especially in the spring when we honor all forms of creativity. Our book fair will have a unique edge. It will feature new books on Jewish themes. But it will also display books on ethical, social and philosophic (sic) issues that make our Jewish connection more open and more connected to the outside world. In the broader sense, health (ˆsicˆ) happiness and social justice are also Jewish themes We want a Jewish book fair that speaks to the world.
The Temple Book Fair will coincide with the climax of the Humanist Forum, three Mondays in May devoted to the discussion of important personal and ethical issues confronting our present society. On May 5, John O’Hair, the courageous prosecuting attorney of Wayne County, will openly discuss his support for assisted suicide. On May 12, Irving Bluestone, a former vice-president of the UAW, and Robert Hunter, a conservative Reagan appointee to the National Labor Relations Board, will debate the future of the labor movement. On May 19 the Book Fair will present Sony Friedman, nationally famous psychologist and television commentator, who will discuss the impact of stress on health.
One of our Book Fair speakers has been made possible by generous grants from generous patrons. The Sonya Friedman talk will be the first Esther and Harol Luria Lecture. Esther Luria died recently. Both Harol and she devoted a large part of their time and energy to the promotion of holistic health.
You will find many wonderful things when you come to the Fair.
You will find books on Jewish history that will introduce you to the discoveries of archaeology and scientific criticism. Jewish history is more fascinating and more intriguing when the fictions of the past are corrected by the research of the present.
You will find the books on Jewish culture that will take you beyond the narrow confines of Ashekznazic culture to the beautiful creations of the Sephardic and Oriental Jewish world. There will be Yiddish writers. But there will also be Ladino poets.
You will find books for children – books which celebrate Jewish identity – books which embody humanistic Jewish values. All of them will make superb gifts for the Jewish holidays and life-cycle ceremonies.
You will find books on secular humanism. Most of the great thinkers and philosophers in the last two centuries were secular humanists. Many of their important writings will be there for you to buy and enjoy.
You will find books on important ethical and social issues. From aobrtion and assisted suicide to environmental protection and the fight against the Religious Right, famous writers and writers who deserve to be famous will intrigue you with new information and new ways to confront the enemies of liberty.
All of this intellectual and emotional feast of books will be the setting for a spectacular array of prominent writers with provocative books.
Norman Cantor will speak. His new anthology, with commentary of the best Jewish writers and thinkers has some wonderful surprises. A leading historian of the medieval experience, he launched his career as a Jewish historian with the provocative The Sacred Chain. His most recent book The American Century is an exciting new way of looking at the incredible victory of American culture. As we know from Colloquium ‘95 there is never a dull moment with Norman Cantor.
Andre Aciman will speak. His memoir Out of Egypt about the Jewish experience in Alexandria, the city of his youth continues to win prizes and praise throughout the world. No better and more intimate introduction into the upper-crust society of the Near East has been written. Aciman will continue to explore the question which obsesses him. Does Jewish identity always imply some level of alienation and separation from the world around? Is to be a Jew always to be in exile?
Sonya Friedman will speak. Author of many books on feminism and a rational approach to living, Friedman continues to inspire audiences with the freshness of her ideas and the charisma of her personality. She is very much concerned with the destructive effects of stress in our modern society and with the most effective ways to make life less stressful.
Three other writers will speak. Barry Rudner, well known composer of books for Jewish children – Audrey Kron, member of the Birmingham Temple and nationally recognized counselor to the chronically ill and yours truly, Sherwin Wine.
Do four things right now:
- Mark your calendar. The Book Fair begins Friday evening, May 16, and continues through Monday evening, May 19.
- Save your money to buy books.
- Begin to draft your gift list for Jewish holidays and special celebrations of family and friends.
- Start thinking – with great anticipation – of the first Birmingham Temple Book Fair.