May 16, 2008

This Week In Jerusalem

Somewhat belatedly, I'm reading all about the first International Writers Festival in Jerusalem, which took place this past Monday-Thursday (May 12-15). And I'm wishing I'd been there.

You can read some of the press coverage here, here, and, in tandem with coverage of a similar event taking place to celebrate Palestinian literature, here.

Of course, all "boycott" talk I've found so far has to do with urges to boycott the Israeli-planned festival, not the Palestinian one (and I'm not going to do the proponents of that cause any favors by linking to anything explaining their "reasoning"). It seems that Nadine Gordimer, in particular, was the target of appeals urging her to cancel her participation. Kudos to Ms. Gordimer for resisting the pressure.

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