Situated in the Kings Cross area of the British capital, home of two famous newspapers (The Guardian and The Observer), Kings Placebecame a Jewish reference between the 18th and the 26th of February 2012, when it sheltered the 60th edition of the Jewish Book Week. Another book fair about the Holocaust, one might think. Although this event certainly was a book selling opportunity, the topics’ selection was generous and everything went much beyond Jews and their culture. History, music and literature lovers, they all found something for their taste there.
Nice, eclectic, interesting and intellectually stimulating, the Jewish Book Week started, as any respectable event should, by an opening gala, where the “glamorous face” of BBC News, Emily Maitlis challenged three contemporary personalities (the novelist and essayist Linda Grant, the accomplished pianist and writer Eva Hoffman and the illustrious historian Simon Schama) in an engaging debate about being Jewish in the 50s.
Many discussions and speeches held during the next days as well as the movies broadcasted during this week focused on the tight relationship between Jewish and British culture. One such example is Rachel’s Kolsky launch. Her “Jewish London” is a guide about the traces of a rich Jewish cultural heritage visible on London’s landmarks. The face of post-war suburban Britainis seen through a teenager’s eyes in Michele’s Hanson book and the author revealed interesting details during her conversation with a reputed journalist – Stephanie Calman. Contemporary issues such as the Arab spring’s consequences upon Israel and this country’s position in the Middle East or its relationship with the European Left have not been forgotten.
However, not everything was about history and politics at Jewish Book Week. Food and its social and cultural aspects made the topic of a very instructive meeting with Claudia Roden. Artistic talents and crafts were highly praised and the typically Jewish creativity was celebrated through numerous workshops. Willow Winston’s Installation was a perfect example.
