Rice Lecture Series: Israeli Literature in the Diaspora: A Conversation with Shelly Oria

Like the State of Israel itself, the literary representations of Israel have altered dramatically since the declaration of independence in 1948. Reaching well beyond a mere birthday celebration, the Rice Lecture Series includes three events that will dive into the evolution of the representation of Israel in literature of different genres, languages and audiences. These will include children’s literature, literature in English by Israeli authors, and comics and graphic novels.

Dr. Ofra Amihay & Shelly Oria

Dr. Ofra Amihay will interview acclaimed author Shelly Oria, considering the relatively new phenomenon of Israeli authors whose writing is informed by their biography, and sometimes revolves around Israel, but is produced outside of Israel. Oria will share her thoughts and experiences as an Israeli-American author, whose work is distinctively binational, and in some cases markedly Israeli. We will touch on questions of insider/outsider perspectives and the special challenges and advantages such an artistic stance presents. The conversation will address Oria’s oeuvre as a whole with special focus on her award-winning short story collection New York 1, Tel Aviv 0 (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2014) and its engagement with these questions. A light lunch will be served.