The Hoover Public Library on Tuesday, Sept. 5, plans to kick off several months of programs called Stories of Exile with a reception for a Jewish rabbi and recent refugee from Ukraine.
The library is welcoming Rabbi Josef Friedman, an expert in Yiddish, and Olena Vyshyvanyuk, a recent refugee from Ukraine working as a case manager for Inspiritus, an organization that aims to empower people whose lives have been disrupted to discover their strength and resilience.
The reception is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. During the reception, three books that are slated to be discussed over the next several months will be distributed. Those books are:
- “On the Landing” by Yenta Mash (1922-2013)
- “The Glatstein Chronicles” by Jacob Glatstein (1896-1971)
- “In the Land of the Postscript” by Chava Rosenfarb (1923-2011)
The three works of literature all were originally written in Yiddish and are being provided by a grant from the Yiddish Book Center. They also are available through the Hoopla Digital app, which is free to all Hoover Public Library cardholders.
The Stories of Exile grant also is funding discussions of an Alabama-centric young adult novel-in-verse and a series of programs focusing on the themes of displacement and diaspora, which is the dispersion of people from their original homeland.
Other special events will include:
- A memoir writing workshop led by Malta expat Miriam Calleja Shaw
- An Empathy Project play overseen by Anne Ledvina in conjunction with the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute’s welcoming activities surrounding the arrival of the Little Amal puppet in Birmingham.
- A presentation by University of Alabama history professor Janek Wasserman on the history of exile throughout Europe
- Films and documentaries corresponding to the exile theme in the Hoover Library Theatre each month
- A conclusion of the series in December with Alabama author Irene Latham and Atlanta-based actor Charles Waters discussing their book, “African Town,” which depicts the voyage of the last 110 African slaves to be transported to Mobile on the Clotilde slave ship.
Other funding sponsors include the Birmingham Jewish Federation, Blanket Fort Hope and an anonymous donor. Other partners for the series include the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, Alabama Holocaust Education Center, Temple Beth-El, Temple Emanu-el, Chabad of Alabama, Alabama Interfaith Refugee Partnership, Inspiritus, University of Alabama History Department, UAB Institute for Human Rights and Create Birmingham.
For more details about the Stories of Exile series and a full schedule of events, visit hooverlibrary.org.
