Welcome to Jerusalism

An evening to celebrate the publication of Israeli author, Judy Lev’s book, “Our names do not appear.” We gathered at Jerusalem’s own Little Prince book shop and cafe for a reading by the author and conversation with Amital Stern.

Judy Labensohn is a pioneer of teaching English language creative writing in Israel. Writing as Judy Lev, Our Names Do Not Appear is her first book. She lives in Haifa.

Amital Stern writes film, theater and hybrid work and teaches haunted, messy writing labs.

The evening featured a conversation between Sheryl Abbey and the artist and educator Robin Press.

Along the Edge of Absence is Sheryl Abbey’s poetic journey through time and place: from childhood to motherhood; from America to Israel, Germany, and the Netherlands; from her parents’ buried Holocaust traumas to her search to uncover them. With language that stirs and soothes, Abbey reckons with history, marvels at nature, and weaves her way through love and loss, ultimately discovering “breaths of grace” that heal across the generations.

An evening celebrating the publication of But First I Call Your Name, the English translation of poems written by Hadassa Tal. We gathered at the Little Prince Coffee Shop, in Jerusalem, where Hadassa and Joanna Chen (the book’s translator) read select poems and talk about the book. There was also be a musical performance by Victoria Hanna.

Hadassa Tal is an award-winning Israeli poet who works with the sacred aspects of the Hebrew language.

Victoria Hanna is a world-renowned composer, creator, performer, researcher, and teacher of voice and language.

An evening of experimental story-telling, with visiting poet, Jake Marmer, local performance artist, Ari Teperberg, & MC Lonnie Monka.

*Jake Marmer* is a poet, performer, and educator.

*Ari Teperberg – ארי טפרברג*
maker, opera director and performer

A mind- & genre-b(l)ending evening of performances by Adeena Karasick, Guy Dolev, & Michael Dickel (w/MC: Lonnie Monka).

* Adeena Karasick * Ph.D, is a New York based poet, performer, cultural theorist and media artist and the author of 12 books of poetry and poetics.

* Guy Dolev * is a creator of Dance and Theater, currently studying for a masters degree in the program for cultural studies at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

* Michael Dickel * says, “Poetry enchanted me.”

An evening celebrating the publication of Geula Geurts’ lyrical essay The Beginnings of Fire (CutBank Books, 2021). This event features a reading from the book by Geula, live music by Emmy Raviv, and plenty of time to socialize and meet the author.

Geula Geurts is a Dutch born poet and essayist living in Jerusalem. In her work she explores female physical autonomy, religious repression of the body, early motherhood and postpartum depression.

Emmy Raviv is a lifelong singer. From choirs to academic training, her music has grown with her.

A Tel Aviv Review of Books and Jerusalism collaborative event & exclusive screening of the new documentary The Fourth Window, on the life and work of Amos Oz, to be followed by a live Q+A with the director, Yair Qedar, and Tel Aviv Review of Books editor Sam Sussman.

A רוח חדשה & Jerusalism collaborative event.

Three English-language poets gathered to read from their work and reflect on the relationship of poetry to art. MC: Lonnie Monka.

✦ Annie Kantar is an award-winning writer, poet, & translator. She directs the English Program at Shalem College in Jerusalem.
✦Michael Dickel is an award-winning poet, artist, fiction writer, script writer, publication editor & photographer.
✦Yosefa Raz is a poet, translator, and scholar. She is a lecturer in the Department of English Language & Literature at the University of Haifa.

A Barbur Gallery and Jerusalism collaborative event & special literary occasion!

The event included reading by Sulak together with a musical interpretation of the poems by violinist Daniel Hoffman, followed by a brief conversation and Q&A moderated by Lonnie Monka.

MC’ed by writer Ben Shields, the event began with a reading by Back, followed by an interview with her, and concluded with a Q&A, opening the discussion to the audience.
Rachel Tzvia Back is an English-language Israeli poet, translator and professor of literature.

Led by Jerusalem-born writer Liza Michaeli, this event is a salon-style evening of intimate dialogue at Silo Cafe in Jerusalem about the language of experience and the experience of language. The event features polylingual writers, Ariel Resnikoff, Gali-Dana Singer, Nekoda Singer, and Lonnie Monka, who will share their works and open a conversation for all attendees to join.

Jerusalism is excited for this first post-pandemic in-person Open Mic at Besarabia Bar in Jerusalem! Led by writer and cultural journalist Ben Shields, the event will begin with a featured reading by writer Michael Dickel and continue with an “open mic” for all who would like to share their own writing.

In this collaborative event, Jerusalism and Tel Aviv Review of Books hosted a talk by Rabbi Jeffrey Saks, Director of Research at Jerusalem’s Agnon House, about references to Hebrew literature’s only Nobel laureate in the hit TV series. During the talk, Rabbi Saks explored intertextual connections between Israeli TV and Jewish literature and tradition.

Led by Jerusalism founder and director Lonnie Monka, this event included a conversation with Micha Danziger, a Doctorant Student at The Hebrew University, researching Philosophy, Nazism and the Shoah, along side readings of Holocaust-related contemporary poetry. The featured poems were submitted to Jerusalism for this event and published as a Jerusalism chapbook.

A social literary gathering of sharing bad dating stories led by Penina Shtauber, author of #ShidduchCrisis and #ShalomBayis. In this event, attendees will be given the chance to share their stories and listen to others, and make new friends. The conversation will be concluded by a performative reading by Penina of a selected story from the short story collection, #ShidduchCrisis.

An event exploring the overlap of literature and video art. This event will include a viewing of “Making a Great Leap Forward,” a video art piece by Ana Wild (first presented in the Musrara Mix Festival 2020, curated by Vera Korman). After showing the video, the event MC, Lonnie Monka, will moderate a panel with Amital Stern, Roy Brand, and the artist, exchanging ideas about the role of text in video art. Then there will be an open Q&A.

Led by MC Zev Hoffman, the event will begin with a featured reading by Julie Gray, author of The True Adventures of Gidon Lev. Following the reading, the “microphone” is opened to all attendees. In this Open Mic, attendees are welcomed to share work in the theme of “writing a life story.”

This is a joint event hosted by Jerusalism & the Tel Aviv Review of Books. Hosted by Akin Ajayi, this event is a conversation on the story and social history of hashish with the featured guest Haggai Ram, author of Intoxicating Zion.

This event, a conversation on how literature awakens memory & Jewish Arabic identity, features author Almog Behar and MC Sarah Sassoon.

This is a joint event hosted by the Tel Aviv Review of Books & Jerusalism. Hosted by Alex Stein, one of the founding editors of TARB, this event is a conversation with Israeli writer Yishai Sarid on his new novel, The Monster Memory (translated by Yardenne Greenspan).

This “Thriller Night” event with Israeli writer, Nir Hezroni, and Anglo-Israeli writer, E.Z.Rinsky, will comprise of a reading, a conversation, and a Q&A all led by MC Moshe Lapin.

OpenMic event led by Zev Hoffman with performed reading by published writer Erika Dreifus, followed by open “microphone” for attendees to share their writing.

Led by writer Zev Hoffman, this OpenMic event featured a performed reading by published writer Jessamyn Hope, followed by open “microphone” for attendees to share their writing.

Led by artist CY Frankel and poet Daniella Silverstein, this event invited participants to explore “this ephemeral life” through an open mic of poetry and a guided photo-poetry practice.

Mekuvan (מקוון meaning online) was a series of Jerusalism’s first online events. The events spanned 3 months from June to May 2020. Each event featured a different guest. The featured guests were: Erika Meitner, Charles Bernstein, David Caplan, Adeena Karasick, Alicia Ostriker, & Jake Marmer.

Community reading at HaMifal, art community center, Jerusalem.

Reading at Barbur Gallery, Jerusalem.