Tel Aviv Diary June 24-28, 2017 - Karen Alkalay-Gut

Tel -Aviv Diary - June 24-28, 2017 - Karen Alkalay-Gut

June 24, 2017

okay, i'm starting to go back into high gear. i mean there is so much to do in Israel - the powerpoint for the july 3 evening that can only be made when all the participants tell me what they're doing. Sabrine is going to be in Serbia at a writers' conference so she read three poems translated to Arabic to a video camera, and now i have to figure out how to do the subtitles in translation. Asher and Elisheva are on vacation somewhere and they told me to choose whatever i want and they'll read it. i'm going to give them the most erotic stuff I've got, the kind of stuff i myself don't dare read out loud. we'll see what else goes on with this evening.

Although I've been home for almost two days I haven't gone out. Not even to the grocers. it's shabbat. tomorrow the shit hits the fan and the week goes crazy.

I'm not even caught up on politics yet. Labor has elections in less than 2 weeks and all i know i'm getting from text messages where everyone is throwing dirt at everyone else.

June 25, 2017

Want to hear a story that could give someone a stroke? (Background) For my daughter's birthday we made reservations for a fancy restaurant but she really wanted to see Wonder Woman, so I took the kids for the restaurant and the night. I chose the sea bass because one of the little ones wanted to taste the fish. When my expensive main course was brought to me, I got a phone call. "I can't talk," I said to Roy, "This is an emergency," he answered. I took the phone outside. (immediate panic) "I called the sound guy at the place we're having the event on July 3 and they've never heard of us. There are 2 other shows there that night." I call the guy in charge of booking the event. He has no knowledge of this. I feel all the blood in my body surging to my head. My father had a stroke like that. All night I keep getting up to make sure the kids are sleeping and imagine other possible places. In the morning the publisher's assistant offers me the alternative of having the event in an old age home (temporary ease) I decide that only Tmuna could relieve my pain. It works. We're shifting the event to Tmuna and the only problem is that we need an electronic keyboard. And I have to talk to everyone and relax.

So if you were planning on coming, the event is here

at Tmuna, 8 Soncino Street, Tel Aviv, Telephone: 03-5611211.

June 27, 2017

Let's see - the rabbis have pushed Bibi into keeping the separation between men and women at the kotel. It wasn't always like that. In 1917 it looked like this:

Note that there fewer people because the idea was not pleasing to the Turks. But families stayed together.

Here's a new assignment for you - Sunday night on Galei Zahal from 10-11 Eran Sabbag and I will be talking about my poetry. It's a wild program usually about dead people but this program will be called, "I'm not dead yet." check it out on galei zahal

June 28, 2017

Yep, I decided about who I'm going to vote for in the Labor primaries. Gabbay. I'm pretty sure of him. Maybe he can't change the course of this country but I do have a Macron feeling about him

New review of my book: in Saloona. I got a letter about the review from the PR lady while I was waiting for Ezi's PET scan. The waiting room was totally full - mostly Arab and Russian speakers. Two secretaries were handling the paperwork - one Arab speaking and on Russian. Both spoke Hebrew as well. Some of the Arab women clearly came from another country, and maybe the Russians as well. It was like being in a foreign country. And the review, which speaks about my sharing intimacies, seemed totally from another world.

web
analytics
Diary

To Karen Alkalay-Gut Home Page