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Cover of the book "The Art of Leaving: A Memoir," with title in blocky text on a colorful, stylized background that suggests plants above desert

STUDENT/FACULTY EVENT: Writing Displacement: A Seminar on Memoir with Author Ayelet Tsabari

Thursday, February 28, 2019, 11:30 am PST - 1:00 pm PST

Cover of the book "The Art of Leaving: A Memoir," with title in blocky text on a colorful, stylized background that suggests plants above desertAt this lunchtime seminar for UW graduate students, faculty, and advanced undergraduates, the writer Ayelet Tsabari will speak about her new memoir, “The Art of Leaving,” and lead a discussion of a short excerpt from the book that will be made available to the participants ahead of time. Tsabari will also discuss the process of writing and publishing a memoir.

“The Art of Leaving” traces Tsabari’s journey from her childhood home on the outskirts of Tel Aviv to Vancouver and Toronto — and from her native Hebrew to her adopted English — alongside the story of her grandparents’ migration from Yemen to the land of Israel in the 1930s. An astute observer of lives of Mizrahi Jews (Jews of Arab lands) in Israel and beyond in her award-winning short story collection “The Best Place on Earth” (2016), in “The Art of Leaving” Tsabari delivers a powerful coming-of-age story that reflects on identity and belonging and explores themes of family and home — both inherited and chosen.

Please RSVP to jewishst@uw.edu by February 27 for location and a PDF copy of the reading; a vegetarian lunch will be provided.

Are you an undergraduate student? Ayelet Tsabari will discuss the book and her writing process with undergrads over coffee on Friday, March 1, from 10:00am – 11:30am. Learn more and RSVP for this undergrad discussion group here.

This event is organized by the Simpson Center for the Humanities and the Stroum Center for Jewish Studies. Ayelet Tsabari’s visit to UW is further supported by the Israel Studies Program, the Sephardic Studies and Canadian Studies Programs, the Middle East Center, the departments of English; Comparative Literature, Cinema & Media; Near Eastern Languages & Civilization; and Gender, Women & Sexuality Studies.

Portrait of Ayelet Tsabari smiling, wearing a scarf, leather jacket, and earringsAbout the speaker

Ayelet Tsabari lives and teaches Creative Writing in Toronto and was born in Israel to a large family of Yemeni descent. Her first book, “The Best Place on Earth,” won the Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature and the Edward Lewis Wallant Award and was longlisted to the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award. Learn more on her website.

To request disability accommodation, contact the Disability Services Office at 206-543-6450 (voice), 206-543-6452 (TTY), 206-685-7264 (fax), or dso@uw.edu. The University of Washington makes every effort to honor disability accommodation requests. Requests can be responded to most effectively if received as far in advance of the event as possible, preferably at least 10 days.