Exclusive Authors Series with Alan Verskin
The ASF Institute of Jewish Experience presents:
Exclusive Authors Series with Alan Verskin
Join us for this episode of Exclusive Authors Series with Alan Verskin discussing his new book “A Vision of Yemen.”
Tuesday, 6 December at 12:00PM EDT
(Complimentary RSVP)
About the book:
In 1869, Hayyim Habshush, a Yemeni Jew, accompanied the European orientalist Joseph Halévy on his archaeological tour of Yemen. Twenty years later, Habshush wrote A Vision of Yemen, a memoir of their travels, that provides a vivid account of daily life, religion, and politics. More than a simple travelogue, it is a work of trickster-tales, thick anthropological descriptions, and reflections on Jewish–Muslim relations. At its heart lies the fractious and intimate relationship between the Yemeni coppersmith and the “enlightened” European scholar and the collision between the cultures each represents. The book thus offers a powerful indigenous response to European Orientalism.
This edition is the first English translation of Habshush’s writings from the original Judeo-Arabic and Hebrew and includes an accessible historical introduction to the work. The translation maintains Habshush’s gripping style and rich portrayal of the diverse communities and cultures of Yemen, offering a potent mixture of artful storytelling and cultural criticism, suffused with humor and empathy. Habshush writes about the daily lives of men and women, rich and poor, Jewish and Muslim, during a turbulent period of war and both Ottoman and European imperialist encroachment. With this translation, Alan Verskin recovers the lost voice of a man passionately committed to his land and people.
About the authors:
Alan Verskin is Associate Professor of History at the University of Rhode Island.
Click here for more about the book.
Sponsorship opportunities available:
info@americansephardi.org