The Jewish Review staff
Author Dara Horn’s sixth book, her first non-fiction book, is by far her most famous work and will be the crux of her upcoming appearance in Portland Monday, Oct. 28 at the Mittleman Jewish Community Center in “An Evening with Dara Horn: A Conversation About Antisemitism in a Post 10/7 World.”
Horn’s latest book is “People Love Dead Jews.” It sprung from a 2018 piece in Smithsonian Magazine which included the sharp summarizing phrase, “People love dead Jews. Living Jews, not so much.” The central concept is, as explained by a story of her sharing a hotel room with two fellow teens from Mississippi at a high school quiz bowl tournament, that the primary thing most people know about Jews is that people kill them.
In talking about antisemitic acts of murder throughout the world and history, Horn points out the societal obsession with deceased Jews stems from the simple fact that, in her words, “it’s much easier to mold dead Jews into martyrs and morality tales than it is to coexist with living ones.”
Horn’s work and message is so important, explained Wendy Kahn, Chief Development Officer at the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland. , because it gives Jewish people a sense of personal agency amidst a narrative that seeks to take that away.
“She is arguing that it’s not negative motives but unspoken assumptions about Jews that feed into the tropes and thinking about Jews as a people. It’s not always the fault of people sharing the story about the dead Jews but a perverse expectation of society that they need to eliminate agency or power of the Jews and this is how,” Kahn said. “She documents, identifies and provides strategies for taking agency.”
“People Love Dead Jews” received a 2021 National Jewish Book Award and was named one of the best books of the year by both Publishers Weekly and Mosaic magazine. Yaniv Iczkovits wrote in The New York Times that “People Love Dead Jews” is “ an outstanding book with a bold mission” which “criticizes people, artworks and public institutions that few others dare to challenge.”
When the author of such a work comes to town, Kahn explained, it’s not to be missed.
“There’s no experience compared to when you hear an author talk about their work,” she said.
Especially when it’s an important Jewish work being discussed before the Jewish community. Her talk will be followed by an interview with JFGP’s Chief Community Relations and Public Affairs Officer Bob Horenstein.
“The opportunity to be in community and actively demonstrate our commitment to building a thriving, strong, and vibrant community cannot be underestimated,” Kahn continued.
Horn, from Short Hills, N.J., holds bachelor’s and doctoral degrees in comparative literature from Harvard University and a master’s in Hebrew literature from Cambridge University. She’s won a total of three National Jewish Book Awards, the Edward Lewis Wallant Award and the Harold U. Ribalow Prize for her published works. She’s previously taught Jewish literature at Sarah Lawrence College and the City University of New York, as well as holding the Weinstock visiting professorship in Jewish Studies at Harvard and serving as Distinguished Visiting Scholar at Yeshiva University.
Tickets are $60 per person and include drinks, hors d’oeuvres and one copy of “People Love Dead Jews” per household. Attendees who have not already done so will be invited to contribute to the Federation’s 2025 Campaign for Community Need. The minimum gift to attend is $180.
Tickets can be purchased online at jewishportland.org/darahorn.
0Comments
Add Comment