Poetry
Reading by accomplished poet/writer/critic Jake Marmer
Jake Marmer is a Jewish poet, performer and educator who immigrated from Ukraine at 15 and lived for many years in New York — a city he still calls home.…
Off the Shelf
Jewish characters navigate a complex world
The books section is supported by a generous donation from Anne Germanacos. From Abraham onward, the vision of leaving home for something better is a…
History
Ed Zerin, the 98-year-old who wrote the book on “Jewish San Francisco”
Ten books, three languages, two bar mitzvahs — Rabbi Edward Zerin has seen a lot in his 98 years. Now people are gathering to celebrate his erudite life…
Author! Author!
New memoir: Nepalese royalty, the Six-Day War and Passover in Japan
The books section is supported by a generous donation from Anne Germanacos. A new book with an exuberantly peripatetic theme is “Eyeballing Big Croc:…
Theater
'The Chosen': frozen in time, or still relevant?
When playwright Aaron Posner was seeking a Jewish-themed book to adapt for the stage in the late 1990s, he went to the author Chaim Potok for advice. To…
Off the Shelf
Two 2018 books explain how Israel became what it is
The books section is supported by a generous donation from Anne Germanacos. When faced with a vexing situation, I tend to think that part of the answer…
Books
The Dutch-Paris ‘underground railroad’
The books section is supported by a generous donation from Anne Germanacos. Historian Megan Koreman’s book on the Dutch Resistance network that saved…
Books
Her mother’s life in pre-state Israel
The books section is supported by a generous donation from Anne Germanacos. It was inevitable that Rina Neiman would be imprinted by the dramatic story of…
Books
Local author's new novel of the opioid crisis
The books section is supported by a generous donation from Anne Germanacos. “The Boatbuilder,” the first novel by Bay Area native Daniel Gumbiner, has…