Brandeis Bulletin - San Fernando Valley Chapter February - March 2011 San Fernando Valley Chapter Happenings February/March 2011 Editors: Phyllis Davidson, Sarita Waldman President: Harriet Glass Ulmer BRANDEIS NATIONAL COMMITTEE SAN FERNANDO VALLEY CHAPTER PRESENTS TWENTY-SECOND ANNUAL WORDS, WIT & WISDOM: BOOKS & AUTHORS LUNCHEON THURSDAY, APRIL 28, 2011 VALLEY BETH SHALOM 15739 VENTURA BLVD. • ENCINO, CA 91436 MODERATOR: RABBI ZOE KLEIN GUEST AUTHORS: CARA BLACK RABBI ZOE KLEIN NINA REVOYR SUSAN STRAIGHT KENNETH TURAN COST $65 PER PERSON FREE PARKING ON DENSMORE INVITATION INSIDE Evaline Fishman and Lynne Reinschreiber - Co-Chairs 1 February - March 2011 Brandeis Bulletin - San Fernando Valley Chapter PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE SFV Chapter News: The months have flown by since I became President in July and we have now completed the first half of our BNC year. At 93% of our Membership goal, we are in position to meet or beat it. It’s a very good place to be at mid-year. Armfuls of hugs to Chair Bella Goldstine and her committee for the beautiful University on Wheels event on January 11th, held in partnership with the Los Angeles Chapter. The event featured Brandeis’ Professor Anita Hill. The results of the combined team efforts were evident and applauded by all. We received a lovely thank you note from Savannah Pearlman, the Brandeis Student Ambassador for our region, whom we hosted at the event. Savannah hopes to visit our Board in April when on Spring break. Thus far, we have produced four major events: the Study Group Brunch for Leaders and Coordinators; the successful Fall Luncheon: Spotlight on Hollywood; University on Wheels in partnership with the Los Angeles Chapter; and the upcoming Words, Wit & Wisdom: Books & Authors on April 28th. The 4-part Speakers Series this season presented unusually exciting talent—each unique in their own way. We produced our chapter’s first electronic Bulletin and hope to see our chapter website online in the next few months. In addition, we contributed to the Western Region Bulletin. The E-Bulletin and Website Task Force has been very active. We owe a great deal to Deborah Shapiro, the daughter of Phyllis and Bruce Davidson. Deborah has been helping us develop a completely computerized membership database of our nearly 1,500 Members and Friends. She has been an amazing resource and teacher. Brandeis News: Brandeis University has a new President, Frederick M. Lawrence, the 8th in Brandeis’ history. Inside this issue is a message from President Lawrence. The University is nearing its campaign goal of $3 million for Fulfilling the Promise, and thanks to the generosity of the Mandel Foundation, this Fall opened a $22.5 million facility that increases attention to the centrality of the humanities in higher education. Recently, Janice Fineman, BNC Executive Director, forwarded information about a new visioning and planning process for BNC. The first part of the process is a survey being sent by the University to a random sample of members nationwide. Please urge anyone you know who receives the survey to complete and return it. BNC Western Region (west of the Mississippi) is soliciting nominations for Western Regional officers for a 3-year term, 2011-14, beginning July 1st. The positions to be filled are Western Region President, Western Region Advisors (2), and Western Region Treasurer. I have the nomination forms, which call for a substantial amount of information on each candidate. If you would like our chapter to recommend someone for any of these positions, please let me know. In closing, a few words about “civility”: Our society increasingly has become more combative in nature and we have to work ever harder at finding some peace in our own lives. I hope each and every one of you is able to find that peaceful center in yourself and set an example for those around you. Warm wishes, Harriet Glass Ulmer 2 Brandeis Bulletin - San Fernando Valley Chapter February - March 2011 Brandeis National Committee SAN FERNANDO VALLEY CHAPTER WE CORDIALLY INVITE YOU TO JOIN US FOR OUR TWENTY-SECOND ANNUAL WORDS, WIT & WISDOM: BOOKS & AUTHORS LUNCHEON THURSDAY, APRIL 28, 2011 10:00AM – 3:00 PM VALLEY BETH SHALOM 15739 VENTURA BLVD, ENCINO Parking across from Temple (Densmore Ave.) & available from 9:30 AM Cost, $65.00 PER PERSON Evaline Fishman and Lynne Reinschreiber – Co-Chairs (Proceeds for this luncheon go to Research Libraries & Student Scholarships) ________________________________________________________________________ Cut and Send WORDS, WIT & WISDOM: BOOKS & AUTHORS LUNCHEON RESERVATION DEADLINE 4/18/2011 Name:__________________________________Phone:___________________e-mail___________________ Donor $65.00____________Angel $70.00_____________Patron $80.00____________ Please reserve __________________________seats (Make check payable to BNC. Tax deductible portion for each ticket is $30.00) Sorry I cannot attend, but would like to donate $______________________ Please circle one: cold poached salmon cold sliced chicken salad pasta & vegetables Tables of Ten/Seat me with:_____________________________________________ Mail checks to Bobbie Kostin: 4709 Jacaranda St., Calabasas, CA. 91302 Phone 818-876-9137 PLEASE NOTE: For reservations, please use this form. No other invitation will be mailed. If you need more invitations, you can copy this form or call Evaline Fishman at 818-345-5333 3 February - March 2011 Brandeis Bulletin - San Fernando Valley Chapter OUR WORDS, WIT AND WISDOM AUTHORS RABBI ZOE KLEIN - MODERATOR Rabbi Zoe Klein graduated cum laude from Brandeis University with a B.A. in Psychology. She received her rabbinic ordination from Hebrew Union College in New York City in 1998. Upon ordination she served Temple Shalom in Norwalk, Connecticut. Rabbi Klein pursued the rabbinate out of a passion for ancient texts, mythology, liturgy and poetry. She has written numerous articles (Harper’s Bazaar, Tikkun, Jewish Journal, Torat Hayim), poems and prayers which are used in houses of prayer all around the country. Her novel "Drawing in the Dust" was published in 2009. Rabbi Klein gives numerous presentations and is a panel participant or keynote speaker at various assemblies all over the country. She is a resource for reporters in regional newspapers and has appeared as a commentator on the History Channel in “Digging for the Truth." Rabbi Klein began serving at Temple Isaiah in 2000 and teaches Torah every Shabbat morning, employing traditional, Chasidic and modern interpretations. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband Jonathan and their children Rachmiel, Kinneret and Zimra. CARA BLACK Cara Black’s nationally bestselling and award nominated Aimee Leduc Investigation series, mystery novels which track detective Aimee Leduc, have been translated into French, Spanish, Italian, Japanese and Hebrew. She’s included in "Great Women Mystery Writers" by Elizabeth Lindsay (2nd edition published in the U.K.). Her first three novels in the series: "Murder in the Marais," "Murder in Belleville", and "Murder in the Sentier," were each nominated for an Anthony Award as Best Novel. All of her mystery novels take place in the City of Light, each in one of the city’s very different neighborhoods. "Murder in the Latin Quarter" is a finalist for Best Novel Award from the Northern California Independent Booksellers Association (NCIBA). Although Ms. Black did not publish her first crime novel until 1999, the seed was planted in the early 1980's by a French friend who introduced her to a whole different history of Paris—that darker side, that other side. She lives in San Francisco with her husband, a bookseller, and her teenage son. She is a San Francisco Library Laureate and a member of the Paris Societe Historique in the Marais. Her next Aimee Leduc novel, "Murder in Passy," will be released in hardcover in March 2011, as will the paperback, "Murder in the Palais Royal." NINA REVOYR Nina Revoyr was born in Japan to a Japanese mother and a Polish father. She grew up in Tokyo, Wisconsin and Los Angeles. She received her MFA in Writing from Cornell University and published her first novel, "The Necessary Hunger", in 1997, which was described by the Los Angeles Times as “the kind of irresistible read you start on the subway at 6:00 p.m. on the way home from work and keep plowing through until the last page at 3:00 a.m.” Her second novel, "Southland", was a BookSense 76 pick and won the Ferro- Grumley and Lambda Literary awards, was an EDGAR Award Finalist, and named one of the “Best Books of 2003” by the Los Angeles Times. Ms. Revoyr’s work has been featured in many magazines, newspapers, and radio shows including the Los Angeles Times, Vanity Fair, and NPR’s Weekend Edition. She lives and works in Los Angeles. Her newest novel, "Wingshooters," which will be published in March 2011, is set in central Wisconsin against the backdrop of Vietnam and the post civil rights era. The book explores both connection and loss as well as complex but enduring bonds of family. , 4 Brandeis Bulletin - San Fernando Valley Chapter February - March 2011 SUSAN STRAIGHT Susan Straight was born in Riverside, California. As a student at Riverside Community College, she received encouragement to pursue her writing. She earned a scholarship to the University of Southern California and in 1984 earned her M.F.A. from the University of Massachusetts Amherst’s MFA Program for Poets & Writers. She co-founded the Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing & Writing for the Performing Arts program at the University of California, Riverside, where she currently teaches. She has published six novels, a novel for young readers, and children books. She has written for numerous national publications including The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Nation, and Harper’s Magazine, a frequent contributor to NPR and Salon.com. She won the Lannan Literary Award in 2007 and the Edgar Allan Poe Award for her short story, "The Golden Gopher," in 2007.