Alk
sx.e. We' WO

V e

OF NOTE ... NEW ON CD

Michael Mirtsopoulos found a
world of meaning in forming Lost
Planet Records of Connecticut. "I did-
n't want people to forget," he says.
Innocent Voices: The Verse of Terezin's
Children is a recording of Jewish heart
and soul amid the Holocaust that oth-
ers didn't want to touch.
"Other labels were receptive at
first," says Mirtsopoulos of music
makers who heard his pitch about a
recording based on the poetry of
young concentration camp victims.
But they weren't listening. Music of
the Holocaust? "They asked, 'Couldn't
it be happier?'"
Mirtsopoulos is happy with the
approach he has taken. He and Gerald
Buckley are executive producers of the
CD, composed and conducted by
John Federico.
There is a treasure trove of triumph
in the children's poems, Mirtsopoulos
says. The poems are from the books I
Never Saw Another Butterfly and We
Are Children Just the Same.

Mixed Media

News 6- Reviews.

That question can be answered by
listening to the Jewish writers and
other novelists and poets participating
in the 18th annual International
Festival of Authors scheduled Oct. 22-
Nov. 1 at the Harbourfront Centre in
Toronto.
"In addition to traditional readings,
the festival offers a different kind of
encounter with most of our writers: an
on-stage conversation with a simpatico
correspondent," said Greg Gatenby,
artistic director of the event.
"Intended to address a wide range
of issues beyond the overtly literary,
these on-stage discussions are always
followed by an opportunity to ask
questions."
The following Jewish authors
will showcase their readings at
8:30 p.m. on the dates indicat-
ed. Other festival events include
lectures and tributes.
• Erica Jong, known for her
commentary on issues central to
THE
women's lives, presents
Inventing Memory, a woman's
VERSE
quest to learn about her female
ancestors, Oct. 24.
OF
• Anne Michaels' debut book,
TEREZIN'S
Fugitive Pieces, explores the lives
of two men transformed by the
44k gFi 64-41 t11 4.A 41 TS 01
CHILDREN
Holocaust and will be featured
Oct. 25.
• Deborah Eisenberg brings a
Composed & Conducted by John Federico
humorous spin to the festival
through her current book of
short stories, All Around
Atlantis. She uses an edgy brand of
"The youngsters from Westchester
humor to chart the mundane move-
County who recorded Innocent Voices
ments of daily life, an approach she
were the same ages as those in Terezin,
will
communicate in person Oct. 26.
10 to 14," says Mirtsopoulos. They
• Arnon Grunberg's debut novel,
are joined on the CD by professional
Blue Mondays, is a coming-of- age
singers from around the country.
drama that will be read Oct. 28.
—Tom Tugend
• Polish-born, Montreal-based
writer Yehuda Elberg established the
first Jewish newspaper in Poland and
has received the Prime Minister's
Award (Israel) for Yiddish literature.
The Empire of Kalman the Cripple
describes Jewish life in Poland just
before World War II. His reading is
AUTHOR! AUTHOR!
Oct. 29. Also on Oct. 29, Norman
Do books take on a new dimension
Levine
will present his short stories
if they are read out loud by their
about
relationships
in Something
authors?
Happened Here.

Innocent 'ices:

..•

-

• Judith Rossner presents Olivia, or
The Weight of the Past, which concerns
a Jewish woman abandoning a con-
ventional life, Oct. 30.
• Anna Mitgutsch's reading of
Lover, Traitor, A Jerusalem Story, a her-
itage exploration, is Oct. 31.

—Suzanne Chessler

BETWEEN THE PAGES

of the "talking cure," contracted a
mouth cancer that killed him.
• Even in 1950s Bronx, remembers
Ralph Lauren, born Ralph Lifshitz,
"whatever I had on, other kids would
say, 'Hey, where'd you get that?"'
Today, the fashion maven wears velvet
slippers to work.
• Steven Spielberg, who had his
actors shave their heads for Shindler's
List, had his bald spot sprayed black to
collect his Oscars for that much-
acclaimed film.
• Dr. Ruth Westheimer, a German
refugee who lost both her Orthodox
parents in the Holocaust, has been
known to say, "Nothing wrong with
new uses for peanut butter or onion
rings."
• Musical virtuoso Glenn Gould
wore overcoats in the summer, soaked
his hands in hot water before perform-
ing and preferred to sit low at the
piano, almost shoulder-level with the
keyboard. He gave up public perform-
ing in 1964, declaring, "The concert
is dead."
Among other Jews best capturing
the spirit of the times are Leonard
Bernstein, the Marx Brothers, Bugsy
Siegel, Betty Friedan, Anne Frank,
Golda Meir, Benjamin Spock,
Roseanne, Lauren Bacall, Woody
Allen, George Gershwin, Lenny Bruce
and Gilda Radner.

It's been almost 25 years since
People magazine started publishing its
annual "25 Most Intriguing People of
the Year" issue each December. And,
yes, I've probably read most of them.
So I couldn't wait to get my hands On
People's special collector's hardcover
edition of The Most Intriguing People
of the Century.
As this first "century of the celebri-
ty" draws to a close, editor Eric Levin
and his staff chose about 150 of those
paeans of popular culture "who most
memorably captured our attention." A
good handful of them are Jewish, and
the book's rare photographs and
unusual details provided an enjoy-
able read, even for a seasoned
celebrity watcher like me.
Just a few tidbits.
• Harry Houdini, born Erik
Weisz, was the son of a penniless
rabbi who died when Harry was
* ;;0004 6
18. Despite his own long and lov-
ing marriage, Harry was a true
mama's boy. When he died of
peritonitis at age 52, his casket
was adorned with a wreath that
read "Mother Love," and his head
lay on a pillow of his mother's let-
ters.
• Albert Einstein, who called
himself a "deeply religious nonbe-
liever," turned down the presiden-
cy of Israel in 1952. He cared lit-
tle for money. He once used a
$1,500 check as a bookmark and
promptly lost the book.
• Sigmund Freud, the inventor

—Gail Zimmerman

Snail. MUM:*

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