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Oct. 12, 2007
Spreading the word around
New book festival head wants to reach non-Jews, too.
KELLEY KORBIN
The Cherie Smith JCCGV Jewish Book Festival's new director has
an impressive past. South African-born Nicole Nozick is a former
broadcast and print journalist who has worked with numerous high-profile
media outlets, including the BBC, Jerusalem Post, Reuters
and Associated Press.
While running a Jewish book festival may seem a come down from such
journalistic positions, Nozick doesn't feel that way at all –
in fact, she said it was a bit of serendipity.
"I think to everything there is a season," she told the
Independent. "My years in Israel and in the Middle East
and with the BBC belong to a special time in my life – a time
when I was younger and felt invincible wearing a flack jacket and
getting shot at and all of that. Seeing horrible things all the
time and being in those stressful situations, it was an adrenaline
rush. It made me feel invincible and excited and I would phone my
friends from the middle of a riot."
But for Nozick, such excitement has had its time. She said that,
after a while, the appeal of that dangerous and fast-paced lifestyle
started to wear thin for her. She was ready to move forward in her
life in a different way.
"The older I got, the more I had a reality check," she
said. "Towards the end of my time there, I remember phoning
my husband-to-be almost in tears. I was scared and I wasn't enjoying
this anymore. I was nervous that I was going to be shot.... I think
when we moved to Vancouver and especially when I had children priorities
in life changed."
She explained that, when she and her husband relocated to Vancouver
in 2001, she tried working with local media outlets, including City
TV, but "found it hard to bridge the gap between working for
the BBC in the Middle East and working for the media in Vancouver."
She added, "I mean this with no disrespect, but between dealing
with life and death situations there and then coming here, the news
didn't feel as vital or as important. So, after staying in the media
for a while, I felt that I had to find something more meaningful
to do with my background."
She began working with nonprofit groups, including the JCC book
festival, doing public relations and teaching media skills. Six
years later, she was offered the helm of the festival and snapped
it up. She said it feels like it was meant to be.
"In terms of giving back, I feel like I'm working with the
community in a way that I haven't in the past."
The festival's mandate is to feature or showcase Jewish writers
from around the world, whether they write about Jewish topics or
not, along with non-Jewish writers who write on Jewish themes.
Nozick is looking forward to this year's line up of authors and
has some surprises up her sleeve that she feels will make this year's
festival better than ever. Highlights will include an "intimate
writer's salon" with The History of Love author Nicole
Krauss, a family writing workshop and a spoken word performance
with the Fugitives, a popular group. Nozick said that inviting the
Fugitives, who perform their spoken word with a seven-piece back-up
band and who have a large following among the university and writing
crowd in the city, will add a new angle to the event.
"I'm excited because it's bringing a whole new audience to
the JCC and the book festival. It's totally bridging the gap between
young and old. It adds an edge that hasn't been here and will bring
in a younger urban crowd."
That's exciting for Nozick because one of her goals is to outreach
Jewish writers and the JCC itself beyond the Jewish community in
the Lower Mainland.
"I don't think people should be insular, and it works both
ways," she explained. "It's just as important for the
Jewish community to be exposed to the broader community and vice
versa, too."
Nozick's focus on breaking down barriers comes from her roots. "Apartheid
South Africa just showed me how dangerous life can be when everyone's
just in their little boxes and isn't exposed to anything beyond
that. I think it's really important that there's a fluidity to the
community and that we learn from each other."
The book festival runs from Nov. 24 to 29, with most events taking
place at the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver. Program
guides will be available next week. For more information call the
JCCGV at 604-257-5111 or visit www.jccgv.com.
Kelley Korbin is a freelance writer living in West Vancouver.
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