Laurence Roth is professor of English and Jewish Studies at Susquehanna University where he directs the Jewish and Israel Studies Program and is also co-chair of the Department of English and Creative Writing. He is the author of Inspecting Jews: American Jewish Detective Stories (2004) and co-editor of The Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Jewish Cultures (2014). His father was the owner of Los Angeles’ largest Jewish bookstore for many years and he is currently writing a combination of memoir and scholarly study tentatively titled Unpacking My Father's Bookstore: Collection, Commerce, Literature.
Doors open for registration and reception at 7pm, a lecture by Professor Roth entitled "My Father's Inventory: A History of Jewish Bookstores on the Lower East Side" will begin at 7:30pm followed by a discussion with Professor Roth and Cafe Eighteen owner Shlomo Perelman moderated by Professor Adam Sheer of the University of Pittsburgh. A reception and informal conversation will begin at 8:30pm.
Registration is appreciated but not required. Light refreshments will be provided free of change in addition to wine available for purchase.