Date
Event Time
12:00 PM
Cost
No Cost
Location
Online
Event Details
Memoirs of a Jewish Immigrant: Jake Marmer- AJU's 2024 Word Grant Winner
Monday, August 5 at 12pm/3pm PT
Join us for an intimate and thought-provoking webinar with poet, performer, and essayist, Jake Marmer, winner of AJU’s Bruce Geller Memorial Prize Word Grant, as he delves into the inspirations behind his writing and his journey of bringing personal and familial histories to life on the page. In this session, Marmer will explore the poignant and complex memories from his upbringing as a Ukrainian Jew, shadows of the war, current and past, and the nature of storytelling across languages and cultures. Don’t miss this chance to gain insight into the creative process of a gifted writer and to engage with the stories that weave together personal history, cultural identity, and the universal human experience.
About the Word Grant 2024: Bruce Geller Memorial Prize
The Bruce Geller Memorial Prize celebrates exceptional works of nonfiction that delve into Jewish themes, broadly defined. Between one and three winners are selected to receive a portion of $7,000 allocated for the Word Grant. This is an excellent opportunity for writers to gain recognition for their insightful explorations of Jewish culture, history, and identity. Bruce and Jeannette Geller were Los Angeles residents whose passion for creativity and the pursuit of art defined their lives. Bruce Geller was an award-winning Hollywood screenwriter most famous for creating, directing and producing the highly successful TV show, Mission Impossible.
Jake Marmer is a poet, performer, and educator. He is the author of three poetry collections: Cosmic Diaspora (Station Hill Press, 2020), as well as The Neighbor Out of Sound (2018) and Jazz Talmud (2012), both from The Sheep Meadow Press. He also released two klez-jazz-poetry records: Purple Tentacles of Thought and Desire (2020, with Cosmic Diaspora Trio), and Hermeneutic Stomp (Blue Fringe Music, 2013). Born in the provincial steppes of Ukraine, in a city that was renamed four times in the past 100 years, Jake lives in Northampton, MA and is the Head of School at Lander-Grinspoon Academy.
Alyssa Silva is the Programming Manager for the Office of Innovation at American Jewish University whose passion is to reimagine and implement what Jewish community looks like by bringing a unique perspective on what is engaging and inspiring Jewish communities today. Prior to arriving at AJU, she was the Assistant Executive Director of Houston Hillel, the Programming and Operations Associate at Maryland Hillel, and is a proud Moishe House DC alumni. Alyssa has a Master’s Degree in Jewish Nonprofit Management from The Zelikow School, a BA in Religious Studies from The University of Arizona, and a certificate in Jewish Experiential Education from The Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies.