September 18
7:00 pm
The Helen and Milton Covensky Fund     
Peter Manseau
Songs for the Butcher’s Daughter
and
Janet R. Kirchheimer
How to Spot One of Us: Poems
$9, Discounted Member Price $6

A first novel and a collection of poetry attempt to bridge the chasms between the old world and the new, between the trauma of loss and the burdens of survival, by evoking voices long past, languages no longer spoken, and an appreciation for life’s continuing vividness.

Songs for the Butcher’s Daughter tells the interwoven stories of nonagenarian Russian immigrant Itsik Malpesh, the last Yiddish poet in America, and a 21-year-old non-Jewish man who is translating Itsik's memoirs from their original Yiddish. The poet reached America as a young adult through his own luck and a taste for mischief—but mostly through the inspiration of Sasha, the brave butcher’s daughter who was present at his turbulent birth during the infamous Kishinev pogrom. The mythic Sasha continually inspires and confounds Itsik throughout his life, across continents and languages.

How to Spot One of Us is a collection of over 80 poems inspired by the author’s family's tragedy in the Holocaust. Honoring their memory, she provides a moving tribute to the powers of faith and hope for the future. Through her stories she creates a new hard reality—reverential, but with no simple catharsis. Even the face of true evil, she invites readers, with a fierce grace, to preserve their humanity and faith. Evoking images of the unimaginable while offering a legacy of love, Kirchheimer, the daughter of survivors, provides a new way to remember.

Peter Manseau is the author of Vows, one of Amazon.com's ten best memoirs of 2005, and coauthor of Killing the Buddha: A Heretic's Bible, one of Publishers Weekly's best books of 2004.

Janet R. Kirchheimer is a teaching fellow at CLAL: The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership. She teaches adults and teens about Judaism in a variety of locations using poetry and creative writing exercises. Her work has appeared in several publications in the U.S. and abroad. 

"Janet R. Kirchheimer’s poems are poignant and evocative of times of darkness and despair.  Their warmth is communicative and necessary."          

-Elie Wiesel, Nobel Peace Laureate

The Helen and Milton Covensky Fund helps the 16th Street J present a number of unique cultural programs throughout the year and supports a collection of quality Jewish children’s literature and videos housed in the 16th Street J’s library. 

Co-sponsored by The Generation After, Inc.

Purchase Tickets   Buy Peter Manseau's Book  Buy Janet Kirchheimer's Book