Frizzworld

I have managed to get to Jewish Book Week a couple of times. Sunday there was Martin Amis and Christopher Hitchens; best friends thinking they were down the pub – it was funny and witty and intelligent. Even made me think I should read one of Amis’s books, which never seem to get beyond my ‘to read list’.

There was George Alagiah talking about English identity; he’d brought along some footage of himself as a kid with such a strong Sri Lankan accent and followed it with a clip of him reading the news, not a trace of that childhood accent left. Even a friend at university hadn’t realized he was Asian until Alagiah showed him some family photos.

I’m disappointed I didn’t get to Julia Kristeva in conversation with Eva Hoffman, maybe I’ll see if they filmed it.

And this evening it was Israeli culture – Avi Pitchon talked about being a European Jew who as an Israeli has been part of a Utopian experiment. Etgar Keret said as the child of Holocaust Survivors he has a running joke with his wife that he always managers to see swastikas wherever he travels. Then there was some Jewish Humour, which I mostly missed due to a rumbling stomach, but I came back in time to listen to Idit Eshel’s beautiful voice and laugh at Sophie Hannah’s very funny poems.

These days I actually know some people who go to Jewish Book Week which is still weird, but in between the people I do know, there are people who I can’t decide if I know, either they just remind me of people I know or they are people I don’t know in person at all I just believe I know them, because I’ve seen them on TV or read their blog or something and it’s all very confusing. I only narrowly avoided the embarrassment of saying hello to someone I definitely don’t know in ‘real’ life.

A reminder that Jewish Book Week starts this weekend.

With all the issues coming out of Big Brother and the general debate about multicultural Britain, this first collection of poems by British-born Indian Daljit Nagra comes out at a very appropriate time. It just got a very exciting review on Late Review and here’s a writeup in the Guardian.

I just booked for this – it could be good…
Guardian Debate – A New Sexual Manifesto with Ariel Levy, Sam Roddick, Lyn Segal, Alok Jha, Zoe WIlliams, Madeline Bunting – Monday, June 26 7:00 PM.

Camera is ready and waiting, but the memory stick still hasn’t arrived, which is very very frustrating.

I have two of the biggest ulcers, one on either side of my mouth – ouch! No one could understand me today, it hurt too much to speak properly.

Started reading “The History of Love” by Nicole Krauss (I’ve never had so many people recommend a book) and am really enjoying it – thanks Kat.

Scrap’s from Jewish Book Week…

Well I thought what job could Mekella give me, which would make me nervous – the microphone came a voice in my head. You know you can’t hide holding the mic and what with the braces and all. There’s me scrolling down the ‘final rota’ and hey I’m doing the microphone. Thought, that’s fine, it’s a challenge, I’ll be fine. So I was a little nervous which meant I caught bits of Linda Grant (with imposing handbag) The People of the Street, interesting, but I wanted more –it could have been there and the nerves meant I missed it. Jeremy Leigh, Jewish Journeys – can I do a trip with this man. Did you know that there are parts of Jewish gravestones used as bricks within the walls of Barcelona’s Cathedral? Please can I come, I’ll make the tea (warning: I’m actually not good at making tea, I forget). Adam Le Bor on Arabs and Jews in Jaffa through the pictures of families living there – I kept thinking of humus – I was once taken for the best humus in Jaffa, we had to go for breakfast, as they would run out by late morning. Henry Goodman went to the Lisa Appignanesi discussion and gave up his seat to an old woman, she went over all shy and her son (I’m presuming here) took it instead, he was far too old not to know better… they made a strange couple. Naomi Alderman and Shalom Auslander were very good. On first impression Auslander has the persona of a Rottweiler, wound up and very tense, he slowly uncoiled. He made an interesting comment about the correlation between ones image of god and ones own father. Mike Leigh and Mark Lawson were good, except for the awful questions that Leigh kept being asked. He semi humorously told the person who thought there were too many F words in his play Two Thousand Years to F*** Off! Imre Kertesz was awe inspiring despite the not so good chair. I’m not a fan of thrillers, I scare easily, so I’ve not read any of Sara Paretsky’s books, but she came over as a very warm and genuine person and got a surprise bar a chocolate from someone in the audience. Then there was The Orientalist, in the shape of Lev Nussimbaum, a Jew who decided to turn himself into a Muslim prince and seemed to lead one of those lives that only exist in the past. We got our laughs from Sandi Toksvig, who’s book Hitler’s Canary, is a novel about the Danish Jews during WWII.

And whilst sitting behind the enquires desk… A woman who picked up a dating brochure, with a cheeky smile, for her two unmarried sons. A man on crutches who came up demanding front row seats for Mike Leigh, trailing behind a girlfriend calling, Trev… A man wanting to be the first into a room even when the previous talk hadn’t yet finished, an embarrassed daughter about to walk off (haven’t we all been there). A man with a stick and a hearing aid in need of a seat. I met the Aunt and uncle of a friend I’ve not seen in years… he remembered I had curly hair (it was still straight), but thought I was a twin – interesting idea, but not true. A friend of the same friend as above, which means I haven’t seen her in even longer, but we managed to remember each others names. A few 2g, although not as many as I expected – hey guys where were you? And of course some new people, which is always fun.

It was really good to be out there – I’m often found hiding away in archives these days, or with my head in a computer screen or both, so it made a very pleasant change.