Video Series: Book Chats

Dr Henry R (Harry) Lew OAM is a retired ophthalmic surgeon. In his spare time he has written a variety of non-medical books: Horace Brodzky, In Search of Derwent Lees, The Five Walking Sticks, The Stories Our Parents Found Too Painful To Tell, Lion Hearts, Smitten by Catherine and Imaging the World, which, although not a medical book, has some medical basis to it.  Henry’s book chat centres on his latest work, ‘Patterson of Israel’.

In the chat, Henry shares the story of John Henry Patterson, the non-Jewish British army officer who led the ‘Jewish Legion’ during the First World War, and explores the underexplored interactions between the ANZACS and the Jewish troops at Gallipoli and Palestine.

Ramona Koval has played many roles in the Australian literary landscape. She is a writer, journalist, editor and former broadcaster renowned for her in-depth conversations with significant writers for many years on Radio National’s ‘Books and Writing’ program. 

Ramona discusses her new book ‘A Letter to Layla’, in which she travels the world in a quest to understand our deep past — and what may be our near future. In this chat, Ramona outlines her case for optimism for the future.

David Slucki is an author and historian based in Melbourne. He is the Loti Smorgon Associate Professor in Contemporary Jewish Life and Culture in the Australian Centre for Jewish Civilisation, Monash University. He teaches classes on the Holocaust, on genocides, on modern Jewish history, on popular culture, and on comedy.

In his book chat, David Slucki explores what brought him to write his memoir, ‘Sing This at My Funeral: A Memoir of Fathers and Sons’, and shares the history of the Bundists — a Jewish socialist movement, still active in Melbourne, centered on the concept of ‘Doikayt’ or ‘hereness’.

Sue Smethurst is an award-winning author and journalist who has spent more than 20 years working in the media across television, radio and magazines. She is currently a senior writer with The Australian Women’s Weekly and has written eight books, including Behind Closed Doors, Spartacus and Me, Blood on the Rosary and A Diamond in the Dust. In her book chat, Sue talks about her latest work, ‘The Freedom Circus’, the remarkable true story of her parents-in-law’s epic journey to Australia.

Sue discusses the importance of recording family history, putting her journalistic skills to use on a highly personal project, and the final conversation she wishes she could have with Mindla, her extraordinary grandmother-in-law.

Orly Castel-Bloom is the author of 11 books, and is a multi-award-winning leading voice in Hebrew literature today. Her postmodern classic Dolly City has been included in UNESCO’s Collection of Representative Works. In 2016, Orly Castle-Bloom was awarded the Sapir Prize for An Egyptian Novel, a family saga that ranges from contemporary Israel to Egypt to Inquisition-era Spain.

In this book chat, Orly discusses the complexities of balancing fact and fiction, particularly when it comes to writing family stories, and the importance of capturing the stories of our loved ones before we forget.

Yaniv Iczkovits was a former lecturer in philosophy at the University of Tel Aviv. The Slaughterman’s Daughter, his third novel in Hebrew garnered top awards in Israel. Described by critics as ‘highly relevant and resonant today’ despite its 19th Century setting, Iczkovits was awarded the Wingate Literary Prize for The Slaughterman’s Daughter (translated into English by Orr Scharf) in 2021.

In his book chat, Yaniv explores what he was able to achieve by setting a narrative in late 19th Century Russia, and discusses the concept of ‘tikkun olam’ — ‘repairing the world’.

Nir Baram was born into a political family but turned his back on politics for a literary career. In 2010 he received the Prime Minister’s Award for Hebrew Literature. His non-fiction title Land Without Borders in 2017 was long listed for the JQ Wingate Literary Prize. His novels, The Remaker of Dreams, Good People and his latest publication, At Night’s End, were short listed for Israel’s Sapir Prize for Literature.

In his book chat, Nir explores the unique power of adolescent friendship, and discusses how award-winning translator Jessica Cohen brought ‘the music of the Hebrew’ to the English-language versions of his novels.

Ilana Kurshan has worked in literary publishing both in New York and in Jerusalem, as a translator and foreign rights agent, and is the books editor of Lilith magazine. In 2018, Kurshan was awarded the Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature for All the Seas Were Ink. This engaging memoir is a celebration of renewal, through learning Talmudic literature, on how to fall in love again.

In her book chat, Ilana discusses her experience of learning the Talmud — leading to the very different and new reading she presents in her work.

Benjamin Balint is an American Israeli author, a renowned cultural journalist and the editor of Sources: A Journal of Jewish Ideas. He was awarded the 2020 Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature for his book “Kafka’s Last Trial: The Case of a Literary Legacy.” This nonfiction work is an account of the controversial trial between Germany and Israel that determined the fate of Kafka’s unpublished manuscripts.

In his book chat, Benjamin discusses Kafka’s literary afterlife — in particular, how the author’s legacy has become inextricably bound in the stories Germany and Israel tell about themselves.

Ayelet Tsabari is an Israeli writer who was born into a large family of Yemeni descent. She has also spent many years living in Canada. Her first book, the collection of short stories The Best Place on Earth, was the recipient of the 2015 Sami Rohr Prize and a New York Time’s Book Review Editor’s Choice. Tsabari’s second book, The Art of Leaving, a memoir in essays was published in 2019, and won the Canadian Jewish Literary Award for Memoir. Ayelet teaches creative non-fiction writing in Canada at the University of Guelph, and University of King’s College.

In her book chat, Ayelet discusses her experience growing up as a Yemini Jew in Israel, and the conflict between longing for freedom and a sense of home.