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Friday October 21, 2005

A clean, well-lighted JCC for a good read

by dan pine
staff writer

For lovers of Jewish literature, this year’s San Francisco Jewish BookFest will be like they’ve died and gone to Borders.

The second annual BookFest takes place Sunday, Nov. 6. at the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco. More than 25 Jewish authors of fiction, nonfiction, poetry and memoir will be on hand to sign books, present lectures and kibitz with local bibliophiles. Admission is free.

The variety of books, authors and subject matter spans much of the Jewish spectrum, from the Yiddish revival to Kabbalah to the ongoing fascination with “Jewish guilt.”

And that’s all before lunch.

Among the authors coming to BookFest 2005 is Rabbi Alan Lew (now retired from San Francisco’s Congregation Beth Sholom) whose new book “Be Still and Get Going” is a personal account of his journeys through Judaism and Zen Buddhism.

Another local favorite is Berkeley poet/author Marcia Falk. She will be on hand to lead a discussion on the work of poet Zelda Schneurson Mishkovsky, whose work she has translated from the Hebrew.

For Yiddish fans, two professors who have written on the subject, Tony Michels and Jeffrey Shandler, will be on hand. Michel’s “A Fire in Their Hearts” examines the Yiddish socialist movement in old New York, while Shandler’s “Adventures in Yiddishland” explores the Yiddish renaissance today.

A panel of authors will discuss current Black-Jewish relations. Willis Barnstone wrote a memoir called “We Jews and Blacks,” while Eric Sundquist’s “Strangers in a Strange Land” examines the links between African American and Jews.

For fiction lovers, several new and established novelists will attend, including Todd Hasak-Lowy, Binnie Kirshenbaum, Tova Mirvis, Michael Lavigne, Rochelle Krich, Rita Lakin and Michael Simon.

Organizers have not forgotten the kids. Children’s book authors Marilyn Sachs and Roni Schotter will discuss their work, which in Schotter’s case includes her National Jewish Book Award winner “Hanukkah!”

One special guest is Joseph Pell, a noted San Francisco real estate developer who began life in Poland, only to see his entire family murdered by the Nazis. He spent the war years as a partisan in the Ukrainian forests. Pell recounts his amazing story in “Taking Risks,” a memoir he wrote with Lehrhaus Judaica founder Fred Rosenbaum.

And then there’s the Jewish guilt.

A trio of contributors to the comical “The Modern Jewish Girl’s Guide to Guilt” –– Aimee Bender, Rebecca Walker and Ruth Andrew Ellenson –– will comprise a panel discussion on the subject. The book covers the gamut of guilt-producing situations, from being outed as a lesbian at your mother’s Yiddish club to being the only kid in Hebrew school who actually cares about learning Hebrew.

There will be plenty of books for sale at the event, which runs from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. After that, attendees will be shooed out so they can go home and start reading.

BookFest 2005 takes place 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 6 at the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco, 3200 California St., S.F. Information: (415) 292-1200 or maven.jccsf.org.

Book ’em: Contra Costa Jewish fest spotlights locals

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