Laurence Roth, professor of English and director of Jewish studies at Susquehanna University, talked about his father’s experience owning a Jewish bookstore during his lecture March 2 at the McBride Gathering Space.
Roth read several passages to the audience from his book “Unpacking my Father’s Bookstore”. The book follows Roth’s father’s journey moving from New York City to Los Angeles in the 1960s, opening the bookstore and becoming an important part of the local Jewish community.
The book touches on other members of his family, like his mom and brother, who were also a part of their father’s story. Roth said his father was supportive of his journey of writing this book.
“He was very positive about my work to help him tell his story,” Roth said. “He understood it that I was going to not so much defend him as to make sure that people remembered the good things that he had done.”
The book tells a chronological story but spends time diving into the broader impact of the store. Roth said the bookstore helped educate and strengthen the Jewish community around them.
“In the book, I recount what I believe his legacy is, and that by supporting and seeking Jewish learning, solidarity and self-definition, his store helped grow the L.A. Jewish community,” Roth said.
Roth said his father attempted to provide literature for every type of reader, collecting books that explored different facets of Judaism.
An excerpt from his book reads:
“Customers could find both everyday items and aspirational goods, exquisite things that they might one day afford, and the standard book selection across the religious, cultural and political spectrum perfectly serves the fast learning study of do-it-yourself Judaism and Jewishness.”
As a result of his wide-ranging coverage of topics, Roth’s father received pushback from neo-traditionalist Orthodox Jews who criticized him for carrying “unkosher books by reformed feminists and LGBTQ learners.”
Freshman Allie Applebaum attended the lecture and found this division to be shocking.
“It was interesting to see, I guess, the divide between the different Jewish communities and how that impacted the business,” Applebaum said.
Andrea Sinn is an associate professor of history and the director of international and global studies. Sinn said she was looking forward to bringing Roth on campus to provide a new perspective.
“It was really kind of like this motivation to think about new avenues of thinking about Jewish identity, about American Jewish life today in an original way through this memoir,” Sinn said.
Roth concluded the lecture with a lesson for aspiring writers. Roth said the most important thing when writing a memoir like his is being confident in your voice because, for him, that’s what got him through.