“Stories of Exile” reading groups at S.F. Public Library

The Eureka Valley/Harvey Milk Memorial branch of the San Francisco Public Library is one of more than two dozen libraries across the United States participating in the Yiddish Book Center’s “Stories of Exile” Reading Groups for Public Libraries program series. Meant to engage teens and adults in thinking about experiences of displacement, migration, and diaspora, the program series will include three books of Yiddish literature in translation paired here in San Francisco with three books by California LGBTQIA+ authors exploring those themes. 

The series will be launched in April and in May (whose link should be on the Library site by 3/17) through existing book clubs at the Eureka Valley/Harvey Milk Memorial branch library, will include multimedia offerings direct from the Yiddish Book Center, and will feature those first two as well as four more books – the remaining two in translation provided by the Yiddish Book Center and two additional books centering the series themes. In honor of this being the Harvey Milk Memorial branch, our companion selections are drawn from the rich diversity of writing produced by LGBTQIA+ authors.  

All six books in the series grapple with questions of homelands, journeys, identity, and belonging. Librarian-facilitated discussions will offer readers an opportunity to explore each book, and for those participating in more than one discussion across the series, a chance to consider the similarities and differences in perspective and experience revealed across multiple books. 

This is a hybrid event. Registration is required for Zoom attendance. In-person attendance does not require registration.