Book Reading by Ayelet Tsabari

Join the University of Iowa (UI) Jewish Studies Network, an International Programs affinity group, for a book reading with award-winning author Ayelet Tsabari. Tsabari will read from her novel, Songs for the Brokenhearted, and share insights about Yemeni Jewish identity, culture, and traditions. She will also present audio and images from her research into Yemeni women’s songs, while reflecting on the unique challenges of writing about Israel in English, her second language.

Reading and discussion at Prairie Lights
Date & Time: Wednesday, October 29, 2025, at 7 p.m. (CDT)
Location: Prairie Lights Books (15 S. Dubuque St., Iowa City)

Sign up for event reminders at https://international.uiowa.edu/JSN-sign-up

The event will also feature Ari Ariel, associate professor of instruction in history in the UI College of Liberal Arts, director of international studies, and co-director of the Jewish Studies Network. Ariel is a scholar of Yemeni Jewish history and cultural practice. His first book, Jewish-Muslims Relations and Migration from Yemen to Palestine in the Late Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries (Brill, 2014), analyzes the impact of local, regional and international events on ethnic relations in Yemen, and on Yemeni Jewish migration patterns.

This event is co-sponsored by the Jewish Studies Network, International Programs, and the Magid Center for Writing.

About the Author

Ayelet Tsabari is an acclaimed Israeli-Canadian writer whose works explore themes of identity, culture, and migration. Her debut story collection, The Best Place on Earth, won the Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature and was nominated for the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award. Songs for the Brokenhearted was the winner of a National Jewish Book Award for Fiction and the Association of Jewish Libraries Fiction Award and a Globe and Mail Best Book of 2024.

Tsabari teaches creative writing at the University of King’s College in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and has been widely recognized for her contributions to contemporary literature.

Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to attend all University of Iowa–sponsored events. If you are a person with a disability who requires a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in this program, please contact Daniel Vorwerk in advance at 319-497-1619 or [email protected].