Outlaw Jew: Alan Kaufman's Rebel Journey April 15, 2013

Join the Oshman Family JCC (OFJCC) for a lively discussion with literary rebel Alan Kaufman, who will be interviewed by psychologist Orit Atzmon. Kaufman will talk about his headlong plunge into the life of a Jewish literary outlaw, a restless quest for Jewish identity that has taken him from the frontlines of the Israeli-Arab conflict and the homeless streets of New York to the Dachau Concentration Camp and the Spoken Word/Slam poetry underground.

A Bronx-born son of a Holocaust survivor and an Israeli army veteran, Kaufman is one of the founders of the Spoken Word/Slam poetry movement and a critically-acclaimed novelist, memoirist and poet. He is the author of the memoirs Jew Boy (which has recently been optioned for a feature film) and Drunken Angel, the novel Matches and a volume of poetry entitled, Who Are We?. In his writings, he speaks from the visceral perspective of the modern Jewish experience.

The San Francisco based author is also the editor of The Outlaw Bible of American Poetry. His anthology, The Outlaw Bible of American Literature was reviewed on the cover of the New York Times Book Review. He is also the founding editor of Davka: Jewish Cultural Revolution, and Tattoo Jew, an online magazine of hip Jewish culture.
Kaufman has taught at the Academy of Art University and he has also led writing workshops in San Francisco. His work has appeared in Salon, The Los Angeles Times, Partisan Review, Tel Aviv Review, San Francisco Examiner, and the San Francisco Chronicle. He is currently the Dean of the Free University of San Francisco.

Official Website: http://www.paloaltojcc.org/kaufman