Talks

The JCC presents a series of conversations with writers, artists and activists discussing their work and related issues. This series is a forum for a spectrum of viewpoints and perspectives, from the varied realms of politics, culture and religion.

Old Bears with Dave Newhouse Dave Newhouse wondered what happened to the kids in his 1956 graduating class at Menlo-Atherton High School on the Peninsula. With the class’s fiftieth reunion approaching in 2006, he hit the road to find out. It turns out these Happy Days kids experienced considerable unhappiness, and tragedy, in their adult years including three classmates whom he interviewed that died before the book was published. Going to school in the 1950s, they experienced historic change: the civil rights movement, space program, rock ‘n’ roll, the Salk polio vaccine, and the popularity of television, fast food and Elvis. Newhouse’s book looks into the difficulty of growing older–alcoholism, divorce, blindness, Alzheimer’s, a son in Iraq–and offers valuable lessons for a younger generation. Dave Newhouse is a long-time columnist for the Oakland Tribune. Old Bears is his seventh book. Tuesday May 27, 7:30pm; FREE

What’s A Jew to Do… About the Death Penalty? The Supreme Court ruling on lethal injection focuses on the narrow issue of methods that may cause “unnecessary and wanton pain” which would thus constitute cruel and unusual punishment. Jewish texts have a wealth of insight into this issue as well as the broader one of the death penalty. Rachel Biale, Bay Area Regional Director of Progressive Jewish Alliance (PJA) will lead an examination of these texts and their implication for the current debate about the death penalty. PJA is a social justice organization which works in coalition with many other Bay Area and national organizations towards the abolition of the death penalty. Biale will also discuss opportunities for activism on this issue. What’s a Jew to Do... is a quarterly series co-produced by the JCC East Bay and the Progressive Jewish Alliance Thursday May 29, 7:30pm; FREE This event is free but pre-registration is required by Monday, May 26. To register please click here

Accidentally On Purpose with Mary Pols When Mary Pols agrees to go for a quick drink with a friend, she has no idea that this seemingly innocuous night will change her life forever. A thirty-nine-year-old independent, intellectual film critic, she unexpectedly meets Matt—unemployed and ten years her junior—definitely not boyfriend material. But after a few drinks and some flirtatious banter she finds herself heading back to his place. In Accidentally On Purpose—a real-life version of the hit comedy Knocked Up—Pols takes the reader along for her unexpected adventure into parenthood. To Mary’s amazement, family and friends shower her with unconditional support and Matt—a seemingly aimless twenty-something—responds with tenderness as he morphs into the role of loving and caring father. Pols takes the reader on a journey from the first drunken night to the first diaper change and learns that sometimes the best things in life are not planned. Mary Pols is a film critic for several Bay Area papers, including the Contra-Costa Times and Oakland Tribune. She was a Knight Fellow at Stanford in 2005-2006 and teaches at UC Berkeley. Thursday June 5, 7:30pm; FREE

Messiahs of 1933 with Joel Schechter Joel Schechter rediscovers the funny and often politically-charged plays of 1930s American Yiddish theatre in his book Messiahs of 1933, celebrating their satire, radical imagination and commitment to social change. He broadens our understanding by examining the innovative stage performances of the Artef collective, the Modicut puppeteers, and the Yiddish Unit of the Federal Theatre Project as well as popular 1930s actors such as Leo Fuchs, Menasha Skulnik and Yetta Zwerling. “One of the most interesting, lively and informative books that I have ever had the pleasure to read on subjects of Jewish-American culture and its connections with American popular culture.” —Paul Buhle, Brown University Professor of Theatre Arts at San Francisco State University, Joel Schechter has written a number of books about satirists and circus clowns, and created a series of comic strips with the illustrator Spain. Co-Presented by the San Francisco State Department of Theatre Arts and the Bureau of Jewish Education Community Library Tuesday July 15, 7:30pm; FREE

Room for Doubt (Except in Regard to Mark Morris) with Wendy Lesser Room for Doubt is cultural critic Wendy Lesser’s account of three separate but interlocking occasions for doubt: an unexpected stay in Berlin; her unwritten book on philosopher David Hume; and her long friendship with writer Leonard Michaels, which endured despite constant breakdowns. As in her book, during this talk Lesser will explore how the arts—specifically her twenty-year love affair with the choreography of Mark Morris—connect with aspects of daily life. The founding editor of The Threepenny Review, Wendy Lesser is a recipient of fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities. “This trenchant little volume display[s] Lesser’s talent for brilliant, merciless self-criticism. She emerges as quirkily attractive and consistently interesting.”—The Atlantic Monthly Presented in association with Cal Performances Co-Presented by the Bureau of Jewish Education Community Library Thursday July 31, 7:30pm; FREE

Underground America with Peter Orner The third compilation in McSweeney’s Voice of Witness series focuses on the plight of undocumented workers in the United States. Underground America tells the stories of men and women who come to the America seeking a better life for their families, only to be subjected to dehumanizing working conditions. They are the backbone of our economy, supporting myriad industries by working the least desirable jobs. Yet, for coming to this country illegally, they are sentenced to lives without basic legal protections. Edited by acclaimed novelist Peter Orner, Underground America lets a largely ignored part of our country finally tell their stories. Peter Orner is the author of the novel The Second Coming of Mavala Shikongo, a finalist for the LA Times Book Prize, and a collection, Esther Stories, a New York Times Notable Book. A professor at San Francisco State University (SFSU), Orner is also a member of the San Francisco Writers’ Grotto, a co-operative that also includes Po Bronson, Tom Barbash, ZZ Packer and B. Ruby Rich. Co-Presented by McSweeney’s and the SFSU Department of Creative Writing Thursday August 28, 7:30pm; FREE

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