
About this Event
Free. Registration Requested.
Author Deborah Kapchan’s Taking Leave is a lyrical memoir that encompasses journeys both inner and outer, physical and spiritual. Taking readers from New York, Paris, and Casablanca to Jerusalem and Abu Dhabi while exploring her Christian childhood, Jewish lineage, and the release she found in Islam, Kapchan examines the extent to which we can take leave of who we are to live between categories.
She meditates on absence, presence, and the sublime to weave an existential tale that honors the three traditions that made her, ultimately desiring to take leave of them all. Taking Leave is an urgent plea for anti-tribalism and a timely treatise for compassionate coexistence in the spaces in-between.
Deborah Kapchan is the author of six books and numerous essays, as well as being a Guggenheim Fellowship recipient. Kapchan writes about the stories, art and culture of North Africa and the Middle East. Her book, Poetic Justice: An Anthology of Contemporary Moroccan Poetry was shortlisted for the American Literary Translators Association’s prize for poetry in 2021. She is Professor of Performance Studies at New York University. Taking Leave, is the latest entry in Duke University’s Practices series.
Oblong Books in Rhinebeck is a fully wheelchair accessible space with on-site van accessible parking. Microphones and speakers will not be used at this event but can be made available with advance notice. Our chairs are stackable and have arms. If you have specific questions about the space or how an event can be made more accessible to you, please do not hesitate to contact us: [email protected].
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Oblong Books [Rhinebeck], 6422 Montgomery Street, Rhinebeck, United States
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