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IMMIGRANT TALENT by Barbara Held
. I had the privilege of introducing David Bezmozgis when he spoke at the Toronto Jewish Book Fair in November. As both a member of the Board of the Fair for the past 22 years, and a staff member of JIAS Canada for the past 8 years, I was delighted to have this opportunity to celebrate a young man who has burst on to the literary scene bringing a new awareness of the challenges facing newcomers. The Canadian Jewish News, Canada’s largest Jewish newspaper, and one that has taken a great interest in promoting Jewish writers, sponsored the program. Mordechai Ben Dat, Editor of the paper, proudly told me that his paper had published stories by David Bezmozgis before he became the name he is today. Bezmozgis was born in Latvia. He and his family immigrated to Canada with the help of JIAS in 1980. As a young boy growing up in Toronto he experienced many of the problems that face new immigrants. The stories in his recent book Natasha (Published by Harper Flameingo Canada) are filled with empathy and humour. They follow the journey of Mark Burman who like Bezmozgis, emigrated from Lativa. The stories trace the Berman family's progress in adapting to life in Toronto, and Mark’s journey from childhood to maturity. They speak to the immigrant experience, and although set in the Russian community of Toronto, have universal appeal. His book was on the short list for both the Governor General’s Award and the prestigious Guardian First Book Award and recently won the Reform Judaism Prize for Jewish Fiction. David Bezmozgis is another success story that shows how we all benefit from the talents and diversity that newcomers bring to this country. Barbara Held is the Executive Assistant of JIAS Canada and a member of the Board of Directors of the Toronto Jewish Book Fair.
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