The Jewish people are not only the People of the Book, they are also the People of the Stories. Wherever they wandered, they took their stories with them. In this lecture and performance, Howard Schwartz, a professor of English at the University of Missouri-St. Louis and a master storyteller, will tell and discuss examples of the four most popular types of Jewish stories: fairy tales, folk tales, supernatural tales, and mystical tales. As imaginative as the Arabian Nights, these stories invoke enchanted worlds, demonic realms, and mystical experiences, taking readers on heavenly journeys, lifelong quests, and descents to the underworld.

Schwartz’s book Leaves from the Garden of Eden: One Hundred Classic Jewish Tales (Oxford University Press) is available for signing after the program.

CODE: 1H0-506