By Kelsey Rogers, Asst. living & arts editor
Palestinian-Israeli writer Sayed Kashua gave a reading of his work on March 20 in Stretansky Concert Hall.
As part of the Seavey Reading Series and co-sponsored by Jewish & Israel Studies, Kashua read from his latest book, “Native,” which was a collection of essays.
Both a fiction writer and journalist, Kashua described Palestinian lifestyle in Israel through what is described as “a masterful blend of satire and drama, the challenge of Jewish-Palestinian co-existence,” according to the Seavey Reading Series’ website.
Along with his recent release, Kashua is the author of three novels: “Dancing Arabs,” “Let It Be Morning” and “Second Person Singular.”
He is also the creator of the Israeli sitcom “Arab Labor” that debuted in 2007.
Senior Maya Zauberman introduced Kashua prior to his reading and said his work definitely resonated with her.
“While we are both of different worlds and generations, both of us grew up with Israeli culture and society,” Zauberman explained.
“So when he writes about his neighbors and the city and the other aspects of Israeli society, I think to myself that I can definitely see this happening,” Zauberman continued.
Zauberman said that she interpreted Kashua’s work as honest and cynical.
“I definitely thought he was honest, refreshingly so, as he told his thoughts straight up,” Zauberman said.
“It’s refreshing, because you don’t see a lot of authors who do that, especially as successfully as he does,” Zauberman continued.
Part of what makes Kashua’s writing so successful is his delivery, according to Zauberman.
“He delivered it in a very friendly and very personal way which I really enjoyed,” Zauberman said.
Zauberman said that she wasn’t going to let this event pass without presenting the introduction for Kashua.
“Nerves? I was downright terrified,” Zauberman said. “Public speaking was never my strong suit, and has always been something I was scared of and avoided doing as much as possible.”
“But I wasn’t about to let this event pass because I was scared,” Zauberman added.
Zauberman also said she had the opportunity to have dinner with Kashua, where they discussed differences between the United States and Israeli society, with a focus on education.
“If he seemed funny, honest and personal on stage, he was like that times 5,000 in person,” Zauberman said.
Senior Gretchen Hintze said Kashua’s work provided her with a unique and personal perspective about his Arab-Israeli roots.
“He has stories of hardship that I cannot relate to on a personal level,” Hintze said.
“The experience reminded me that we have things that we can have in common and learn something new from everyone,” Hintze continued.
Hintze said she liked how Kashua’s work included much of his personal life and how he joked and commented upon this during his reading at Susquehanna.
“The whole audience, including myself, was laughing out loud at some of his deadpan comments and wry humor,” Hintze said.
“Satire to me is a very interesting but very difficult craft, so it’s cool seeing how work originating from a different culture transfers to an American audience,” Hintze added.
“It seemed to very well, given the audience’s clear enjoyment of Sayed’s work and presentation,” Hintze said.
Senior Helen Savidge said that Kashua provided a new perspective for her.
“I haven’t talked to anyone from Israel about what’s going on over there and especially not about daily life and the everyday problems of ArabPalestinian people,” Savidge said. “In the reading, he talked about how alarming he found the major news sources and it was a new, more direct way of phrasing the issues with our news than I’ve heard before.”
Savidge also mentioned that Kashua’s work was clever and funny.
“Every single piece was funny, while still dealing with some serious complications and problems,” Savidge said. The next visiting author in the Seavey Reading Series will be Melissa Goodrich on April 16 at 7:30 p.m. in Stretansky Concert Hall.