Melbourne Jewish Book Week program launched
It’s going to be a smashing festival this year. After a couple of years of online events, the MJBW is back in person.
Melbourne Jewish Book Week has announced their program and it’s looking like a great one. It has four years since the last MJBW and this year’s festival has something for everyone.
Guest writers and artists include Norman Swan, Peter Doherty, Zoya Sheftalovich, Simon Tedeschi, Maria Tumarkin, Jaye Kranz, Bram Presser, Lee Kofman, Alice Zaslavsky and many more.
The 2022 Festival program will interrogate subjects that shape who we are, increase our understanding of the world we live in, allow us to celebrate culture, and explore current literary themes and genres. The week will offer a thought-provoking and insightful mix of conversations, panel discussions, keynote addresses and commissioned performances.
Festival Director Nicolas Brasch is excited to be overseeing an in-person festival, after two years of online events.
“Integral to the planning and programming of our 2022 festival was making sure there is something for everyone,” he said. “Panel topics range from profound discussion to pure entertainment, literature to food, politics to music. Perhaps most importantly, it provides the opportunity to celebrate and support our local authors, at in-person events.”
The festival kicks off with Opening Night: In Our Nature at Memo Hall on Saturday May 28, a night of original storytelling featuring writers Mireille Juchau, Marina Benjamin (UK), Simon Tedeschi, Daniel Sherell (US), Byran Walpert (NZ), Karen Hitchcock, Kyra Maya Phillips, multidisciplinary artist and musician Anita Lester, musician Gideon Preiss and puppeteer Lynne Kent, and hosted and created by writer and audio maker Jaye Kranz.
On Sunday May 29, there are 12 diverse panels, interviews and discussions, including:
- Reporting in Times of Crisis with Norman Swan, Margaret Simons, Peter Doherty, Zoya Sheftalovich and Deborah Stone (moderator). Whether it’s COVID-19, domestic and international politics or war, fake news, conspiracy theories and rumours have abounded over the past two years. This panel of scientists and journalists examines reportage in times of crisis.
- Possibilities For Dialogue in Polarised Times with Sarah Krasnostein (moderator/presenter), Maria Tumarkin and Daniel James. With our increasing polarisation on everything from climate change to the pandemic reflected in both mass media and social media, has dialogue been replaced by polemic and unsubstantiated claims? Are things getting worse, or was it always this way? And what possibilities for true exchange of different opinions might exist in these polarised times?
- Telling Authentic Stories Through Food with Alice Zaslavsky (moderator/panellist), Dani Valent, Tony Tan and Joanna Hu. How do we write about food? Who gets to write about food? What is it like being a caretaker of a cuisine?
- Howard Jacobson in Conversation with Sarah Kanowski discussing his recent memoir, Mother’s Boy, an exploration of belonging and not belonging, of being an insider and outsider, being English and Jewish.
- And more
There is also a children’s program on the Sunday that caters for all ages, from pre-school to secondary school. It includes a writing/circus skills workshop, bubble show and an open mic event for secondary students.
Monday May 30 features Love, Regardless, a reading/performance directed by Romi Kupfer from a collection of poetic narratives by Barbara Kamler.
The festival ends on Tuesday May 31 at the Classic Cinema, Elsternwick. In a Melbourne first, one of the most respected writers of our times, David Grossman, will speak (via video) to Tali Lavi in an intimate conversation about love, vulnerability and home, encompassing his recent novel More Than I Love My Life and his life’s work.
The Melbourne Jewish Book Week 2022 Festival will run from 28-31 May at Glen Eira Town Hall, Glen Eira & Hawthorn Road, Caulfield, Glen Eira Library, Memo Music Hall, 88 Acland Street, St Kilda, and Classic Cinema, Elsternwick.
Full program and tickets available at melbournejewishbookweek.com.au
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