The Ohio State University

Modern Marvels: Jewish Adventures in the Graphic Novel

July 30th, 2007

OSU Libraries presented a five-part reading and discussion series called “Let’s Talk About It: Jewish Literature - Identity and Imagination,” which explores Jewish literature and culture though scholar-led discussions of contemporary and classic books on a common theme. The library’s series explored the theme Modern Marvels: Jewish Adventures in the Graphic Novel, and was led by Steven Fink, professor of English at the Ohio State University.

The book discussions were held on Monday evenings from 7-8:30pm in the seminar room adjacent to the Cartoon Research Library in the Wexner Center for the Arts, 1871 N. High St. Registration was required for the free reading and discussion series, and was open to interested adults in the community who were able to participate in all 5 discussions. Books for the Modern Marvels program were provided to series participants; dates and titles for discussion included:

October 1, 2007 - A Contract with God by Will Eisner
October 15, 2007 - The Complete Maus by Art Spiegelman
October 29, 2007 - Julius Knipl by Ben Katchor
November 5, 2007 - The Quitter by Harvey Pekar
November 19, 2007 - The Rabbi’s Cat by Joann Sfar

Let’s Talk About It: Jewish Literature was made possible through a grant from Nextbook and the American Library Association with local support generously provided by Paul Watkins. Promotional support was provided by our local partners: Cartoon Research Library, the Melton Center for Jewish Studies and OSU Hillel.

Thanks to an enthusiastic response from the community, we have reapplied for the grant in hopes of repeating Modern Marvels in Spring of 2008. To be notified about a possible future offering contact Donna Distel at letstalkmodern@gmail.com or call 614.292.2594.

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