The 15th edition of the Jewish Book Festival will kick off on Thursday, September 26, in Ferrara. This year’s theme is linked to the exhibition \u201cJews in 20th-century Italy\u201d, organized by the Museum of Italian Judaism and the Shoah (MEIS). The festival, which runs until September 29, will focus on novels, essays, and illustrated books, featuring both great classics of the 20th century narrated by today’s authors and books that reconstruct historical events while engaging with contemporary issues.
\n\u201cIn fifteen years, the Jewish Book Festival has established itself as a cornerstone for the city of Ferrara, which eagerly anticipates it with enthusiasm and curiosity,\u201d wrote Amedeo Spagnoletto, the MEIS director, in a column on Pagine Ebraiche. \u201cEach edition offers an opportunity to explore a theme and introduce novels, essays, comics, and illustrated books dedicated to Judaism, its history, and traditions. This year’s focus is on a pivotal century: the 20th century, in all its myriad facets. This theme aligns with the exhibition \u2018Jews in 20th-Century Italy,\u2019 curated by historian Mario Toscano and publisher Vittorio Bo, which will be on view at the MEIS until February 2, 2025.\u201d
\n\u201cThe exhibition narrates a hundred years through artworks, photographs, documents, and family objects, illustrating the complex journey of a minority that recognized itself and integrated into Italian society\u2014first gaining citizenship, then losing it, and finally regaining rights. The 20th century lends itself particularly well to a binary investigation, examining the transformations of Jewish identity: how Jews perceive and interpret themselves, as well as how the broader society understands and engages with this minority.\u201d
\n\u201cThe ambition of the festival is not to exhaust such a complex theme in all its nuances. Over four days of events, it will dedicate space to the great classics of the 20th century as well as to volumes that reconstruct historical narratives and connect them to contemporary issues. Like last year, the focus will not be limited to recounting History with a capital H and its major events; instead, it will also shed light on lesser-known stories, family memories, and emotional bonds. The pages of novels and their authors will allow us to virtually enter the homes of people who lived a century ago, evoking the fears, hopes, dreams, and tragedies that time has not erased.\u201d
\nAmong the authors to be honored at the festival is Kafka, whose centenary is this year; Giorgio Bassani, the Italian Jewish writer who grew up in Ferrara and devoted much of his work to exploring the city; and Sigmund Freud, along with his Italian disciples. The festival will also discuss the implications of the slow and unstoppable process of geographical polarization of Italian Jewry. Now centered around Rome and Milan, once included dozens of small communities rich in traditions, artistic and cultural heritage. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"