From award-winning novelist and memoirist Mary Morris comes the story of a sleepy New Mexican community that must come to grips with a religious and political inheritance they never expected. Morris is the author of numerous works of fiction, including the novels The Jazz Palace, A Mother’s Love, and House Arrest, and of nonfiction, including the travel memoir classic “Nothing to Declare: Memoirs of a Woman Traveling Alone.” She is a recipient of the Rome Prize in literature and the 2016 Anisfield-Wolf Award for Fiction.
Her novel alternates between late medieval Spain and Portugal during the traumatic time of the Inquisition, and a very small town in New Mexico in 1992. The modern New Mexican characters are Catholics with peculiar habits. Nobody in town eats pork but they don’t know why. It is likely they are the descendants of conversos, Jews who converted during the Spanish Inquisition. The story weaves a connecting thread from the Iberian Peninsula to Mexico City and then on to the original settlers who moved into what is now the American Southwest. Five hundred years later, a young amateur astronomer wonders about the secret of the town he grew up in: Entrada de la Luna, or Gateway to the Moon.
Morris’ previous work, The Jazz Palace, won the Anisfeld-Wolf Book Award for important contributions to the understanding of racism in 2016. She also writes short stories and travel memoirs. Her many novels and story collections have been translated into six languages. She lives in Brooklyn, New York and teaches writing at Sarah Lawrence College.
Doors open at 4:00 PM to meet and greet the author. A one-hour author reading and discussion will follow beginning at 4:30 PM. Light refreshments will be served. Admission is free.
Co-sponsored by the Beit Am Jewish Community and the MJCC. Grassroots Bookstore will be there with copies of the paperback edition of Gateway to the Moon for sale and author signing.
From award-winning novelist and memoirist Mary Morris comes the story of a sleepy New Mexican community that must come to grips with a religious and political inheritance they never expected. Morris is the author of numerous works of fiction, including the novels The Jazz Palace, A Mother’s Love, and House Arrest, and of nonfiction, including the travel memoir classic “Nothing to Declare: Memoirs of a Woman Traveling Alone.” She is a recipient of the Rome Prize in literature and the 2016 Anisfield-Wolf Award for Fiction.
From award-winning novelist and memoirist Mary Morris comes the story of a sleepy New Mexican community that must come to grips with a religious and political inheritance they never expected. Morris is the author of numerous works of fiction, including the novels The Jazz Palace, A Mother’s Love, and House Arrest, and of nonfiction, including the travel memoir classic “Nothing to Declare: Memoirs of a Woman Traveling Alone.” She is a recipient of the Rome Prize in literature and the 2016 Anisfield-Wolf Award for Fiction.
Sunday, April 14: Passover Box Assembly
At the Mittleman Jewish Community Center
Event schedule (shifts):
8:00 – 9:00 am: Setup and build boxes
9:00 – 11:00 am: Pack boxes
10:30 – 11:30 am: Send off drivers to deliver boxes
RSVP by emailing jonperrin@gmail.com with the following information:
- Do you want to build boxes/help with setup, pack boxes, or deliver boxes?
- How many people will be helping, including total number of adults and children.
- If you choose to deliver, how many boxes can you take in your vehicle? (boxes are approximately a 2 ft cube)
Check out all of our opportunities to participate in Good Deeds Month: HERE
Art Gallery Exhibit: The Passover Series
Shlomo Katz, Polish/Israeli, 1937 – 1992
Born in Lodz, Poland, Shlomo Katz immigrated to Palestine when he was eight years old in 1945. Katz developed an original technique of oil painting on a gilded metal surface. The result recalls medieval icons on the one hand, and oriental miniatures on the other. These ancient resources combine to form a totally modern image with a light humorous touch and a noble character. It took a lot of experimentation to translate these images to the graphic art form. The metallic inks of the golden tones and the importance of absolute registration presented just a part of the challenge, but the Katz serigraphs became the ultimate in modern printmaking.
Exhibit on display April 19 – 28, MJCC Lobby
MJCC Author Series Events 2019-2020
Film Screening and Conversation with Author Aimee Ginsburg Bikel
Join us for an engaging evening featuring a screening of legendary Theodore Bikel’s z”l critically acclaimed documentary film, In the Shoes of Sholom Aleichem, followed by a lively audience discussion with Aimee Ginsburg Bikel, widow of Theo, and Director of The Theodore Bikel Legacy Project.
Monday, October 28
7:00 pm
Cost: $10. MJCC Member Cost: $8.
Register: oregonjcc.org/bikelfilm
Co-sponsored by the Kostiner Cultural Education Fund and Portland State University’s Judaic Studies Department
Talk with Jamie Bernstein
Join us for a talk with Jamie Bernstein on her memoir, Famous Father Girl, in conjunction with the exhibition Bernstein at 100! and Jewish Book Month. Jamie Bernstein is a writer, narrator, broadcaster, and filmmaker who has transformed a lifetime of loving music into a career of sharing her knowledge and excitement with others.
Monday, November 11
7:00 pm
OJMCHE Members Cost: $12.
General Public Cost: $15.
Register: ojmche.org/tickets/a-talk-with-jamie-bernstein
Held at the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education
Organized by the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education with support from the Mittleman Jewish Community Center and Institute for Judaic Studies
SAVE THESE AUTHOR SERIES DATES FOR 2020!
January 15 – Josh Frank
May 5 – Yousef Bashir
Check back for more details, soon to come!
MJCC Author Series Events 2019-2020
Film Screening and Conversation with Author Aimee Ginsburg Bikel
Join us for an engaging evening featuring a screening of legendary Theodore Bikel’s z”l critically acclaimed documentary film, In the Shoes of Sholom Aleichem, followed by a lively audience discussion with Aimee Ginsburg Bikel, widow of Theo, and Director of The Theodore Bikel Legacy Project.
Monday, October 28
7:00 pm
Cost: $10. MJCC Member Cost: $8.
Register: oregonjcc.org/bikelfilm
Co-sponsored by the Kostiner Cultural Education Fund and Portland State University’s Judaic Studies Department
Talk with Jamie Bernstein
Join us for a talk with Jamie Bernstein on her memoir, Famous Father Girl, in conjunction with the exhibition Bernstein at 100! and Jewish Book Month. Jamie Bernstein is a writer, narrator, broadcaster, and filmmaker who has transformed a lifetime of loving music into a career of sharing her knowledge and excitement with others.
Monday, November 11
7:00 pm
OJMCHE Members Cost: $12.
General Public Cost: $15.
Register: ojmche.org/tickets/a-talk-with-jamie-bernstein
Held at the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education
Organized by the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education with support from the Mittleman Jewish Community Center and Institute for Judaic Studies
SAVE THESE AUTHOR SERIES DATES FOR 2020!
January 15 – Josh Frank
May 5 – Yousef Bashir
Check back for more details, soon to come!
Film Club: Fig Tree
Sunday, December 8, 4:00-7:00pm
Join the Feldstein Library Film Club for a special screening of the film Fig Tree.
About the film: During the Ethiopian civil war, a Jewish teenager hatches a scheme to keep her Christian boyfriend from being drafted, as she and her family prepare to flee the country and go to Israel.
Please note: Programs are subject to change; please contact the office for more information: 503.246.8831 or visit the website at: www.nevehshalom.org.
Join us for a conversation with author Josh Frank. Frank has worked with some of the most innovative musicians, filmmakers, producers, and artists in the industry including Black Francis, David Lynch, and Harold Ramis.
Wednesday, January 15
7:00 pm
Cost: $10. Member Cost: $8.
Sponsored by the Jewish Book Council, the Schwartz Charitable Foundation, and Portland Jewish Book Celebration
Register at oregonjcc.org/frank