News & Events

UNC Asheville Launches Writers on the Line Series; Inaugural Event Features Talks by Acclaimed Jewish Authors Adina Hoffman and Peter Cole

January 26, 2009

UNC Asheville will launch its new Writers on the Line series in February with talks by acclaimed Jewish authors Adina Hoffman and Peter Cole. The ongoing series will feature readings, workshops and programs by noted writers and artists. Hoffman will speak on February 8, followed by Cole on February 9. Both events are free and open to the public.

Hoffman will discuss "My Happiness Bears No Relation to Happiness: A Poet's Life in the Palestinian Century" at 7 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 8, at UNC Asheville's Laurel Forum, Karpen Hall. The talk will be based on Hoffman's forthcoming book of the same title, which tells the life story of poet Taha Muhammad Ali. Arabic scholar Michael Sells has called text "among the five 'must read' books on the Israel-Palestine tragedy." Hoffman is also the author of "House of Windows: Portraits from a Jerusalem Neighborhood." Her essays and criticism have appeared in the Nation, Washington Post, Times Literary Supplement and on the BBC.

Cole will give a reading from and discuss his recent work at 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 9, at UNC Asheville's Laurel Forum, Karpen Hall. The recipient of a 2007 MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, Cole has published three books of poetry, "Rift," "Hymns & Qualms" and "Things on Which I've Stumbled." In addition, Cole is a prize-winning translator of the Hebrew Golden Age poets. His new book "The Dream of the Poem" is the most comprehensive gathering of medieval Hebrew poems ever assembled in English. It has been hailed as one of the "the finest labors of poetic translation…seen in many years."

In 1998, Hoffman and Cole founded Ibis Editions in Jerusalem. This small press and non-profit organization publishes Levant-related books of poetry and belletristic prose. The press focuses on translations from Hebrew, Arabic, Greek, French and other languages of the region. Ibis Editions publishes new works along with overlooked writing from the past.

Hoffman and Cole's talks are co-sponsored by UNC Asheville's Center for Jewish Studies, the Belk Distinguished Professorship, UNC Asheville Hillel and the University's student chapter of Amnesty International.

For more information, call 828.232.5027.