Graphic Novel—“Modern Marvels: Jewish Adventures in the Graphic Novel” May 31, 2009

Get ready for the final session in our five-part series of animated, scholar-led discussions—“Let’s Talk About It: Jewish Literature.” The theme for this series—"Modern Marvels: Jewish Adventures in the Graphic Novel"—will have particular appeal for teens and young adults, but all ages are warmly invited to participate. This final gathering will examine “The Rabbi’s Cat” by Joann Sfar, and the social context in which it was produced. SJSU English Professor David Mesher will open the discussion. Eric Benhamou, a native from Tlemcen, Algeria, Advisory Board member of JIMENA (Jews Indigenous to the Middle East and North Africa), an experienced Silicon Valley high technology entrepreneur and CEO, will share vignettes of his experience living his early childhood in Algeria (the setting for this novel) and his adolescence in France. Eric Benhamou's father, Jacques Guy Benhamou recently published a history of the Tlemcen Jewish community from 1870 to 1962. SJSU Art History Lecturer Mary Salzman will provide insights on the artistic and literary aspects; i.e., comics as a “hybrid medium.” For further information on this series, see our website: www.sjlibrary.org/services/readers/letstalk.htm, contact Deborah.Estreicher@sjlibrary.org or call (408) 808-2357. The Rabbi’s Cat, is co-sponsored by JIMENA, along with Nextbook/The American Library Association and Friends of the King Library.

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