Rochambeau Library presents “Stories of Exile” Reading Groups for Public Libraries: "The Namesake"
Stories of Exile is a reading and discussion program to engage teens and adults in thinking about experiences of displacement, migration, and diaspora. In this program, librarians organize reading groups to discuss three books of Yiddish literature in translation and one book related to the experience of a community served by their library. Rochambeau, one of the nine Community Libraries of Providence, is one of 30 libraries across the country selected to participate in the discussion series. The Yiddish Book Center’s “Stories of Exile” Reading Groups for Public Libraries is made possible by a gift from Sharon Karmazin.
In October, Stories of Exile explores In the Land of the Postscript, by Chava Rosenfarb, seven stories about survivors of the Holocaust, playing out the last acts of that tragedy, and the movie Enemies: A Love Story, based on the book by I.B. Singer, about a Holocaust survivor living in New York City and struggling with depression after his ordeals in the war.
In November we will discuss On the Landing, by Yenta Mash, which documents the lost world of Jewish Bessarabia, the texture of daily life behind the Iron Curtain in Soviet Moldova, and the challenges of assimilation in Israel. The final book in the discussion series is The Namesake, by Jumpa Lahiri, which portrays a family of first and second generation Americans from India. All three books, as well as the movie, address issues of identity, assimilation, and remembering and forgetting the past.
The schedule for the fall discussions is as follows:
October 3 - In the Land of the Postscript
October 17 - Discussion of Enemies: A Love Story (watch at home)
November 7 - On the Landing
November 21 - The Namesake
All discussions will be held in-person from 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm. To participate in the discussion of On the Landing or In the Land of the Postscript, go to the Reference Desk at Rochambeau Library to pick up a copy of the book. Those titles, as well as The Namesake, are also available as eBooks on the Hoopla app, which is available free through the Library. The movie Enemies: A Love Story, can be requested on DVD from the Library or streamed through the free Kanopy app.
Contact rocadults@clpvd.org with any questions.
Rochambeau Library is located at 708 Hope Street (tel: 401-272-3780). Visit the Community Libraries of Providence website at https://clpvd.org/. Patrons of public libraries in neighboring municipalities may also inquire at their own libraries about the local availability of titles.
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