The Taub Center for Israel Studies will host Israeli poet Erez Bitton for “Shattered Rhymes: The Life and Poetry of Erez Bitton,” an evening that will include a film screening and panel discussion, on Tues., Oct. 28, 5:30 p.m. at NYU’s Global Center for Academic and Spiritual Life.
The evening will commence with the U.S. premiere of “Shattered Rhymes” (Hebrew with English subtitles), a documentary on the life of Bitton, a Moroccan-born poet blinded at the age of 10. It will be followed by Bitton, who will read from his works in Hebrew (with English translation).
The event will conclude with a panel discussion on the broader significance of Bitton’s verses. It will feature: Ammiel Alcalay, a professor of Classical, Middle Eastern, and Asian Languages and Cultures at Queens College; Zvi Ben-Dor Benite, a professor in NYU’s Department of Middle Eastern & Islamic Studies; Sami Shalom Chetrit, director of “Shattered Rhymes” and a faculty member in the Department of Classical, Middle Eastern, and Asian Languages and Cultures at Queens College; and Ella Shohat, a professor at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and at NYU’s Department of Middle Eastern an Islamic Studies.
The event is co-sponsored by NYU Center for Media and Religion, Skirball Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies, Hagop Kevorkian Center for Near Eastern Studies, and NYU Council for the Study of Disability.
The event is free and open to the public. RSVP by calling 212.992.9797 or emailing rsvp.taub@nyu.edu. Subways: A, B, C, D, E, F, M (West 4th St.).
Editor’s Note:
The Taub Center was established with a gift from the Henry and Marilyn Taub Foundation. The gift supports an endowed professorship and two graduate fellowships in Israel Studies, and funds lectures, seminars, scholarly colloquia at the Center, and other special programs for students, faculty, and the community. In addition to offering its own programming, the Taub Center works closely with NYU’s departments to create cross-disciplinary programming, serving to broaden NYU’s offerings in Judaic and Middle Eastern studies. For more, click here.