Reda Mansour
Reda Mansour, Consul General of Israel to the Southeastern United States, won’t discuss Israel or politics when he makes his last official visit to Chattanooga before his appointment ends this spring.
Ambassador Mansour will, instead, read his poetry and talk about the images that inspire his poems when he takes the stage at the Jewish Cultural Center on Tuesday, March 2.
The evening will begin with dinner at 6 p.m., and, following the discussion of his poetry, Mr. Mansour will sign copies of his poems for participants. The cost for the program is $9 and includes dinner.
Ambassador Mansour, a Druze who speaks five languages, is the first non-Jewish poet in Israel to write exclusively in Hebrew. He has published three books of poetry, and a number of his short stories and poems have appeared in literary articles and poetry reviews.
Translations of his poems can be found in English, Spanish and Portuguese. He is currently at work on a book of short stories.
Mr. Mansour participated in Charleston’s Piccolo Spoleto festival in 2008, and he has presented at the Meacham Writers’ Workshop at UTC and at events in San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, Miami, Houston and New Mexico, San Salvador, Quito, Lisbon, and in his homeland of Israel.
A companion exhibit, Words and Images, features framed copies of Mansour’s poems, in English and Hebrew, along with the photos that inspired them will be on exhibit at the Jewish Cultural Center from March1 through March 12. Gallery hours are Mondays through Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Fridays 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. through March 12.
Space is limited for the March 2 evening with Ambassador Mansour. Contact Ann Treadwell, at 493-0270 ext. 13 or atreadwell@jcfgc.com to reserve your space and/or to arrange group tours of the companion exhibit.
The Jewish Cultural Center is under the auspices of the Jewish Federation of Greater Chattanooga. Located at 5461 North Terrace, the Center and its programs are open to everyone regardless of religious affiliation.