NO POWERPOINTS!

 
I was butt-hurt when my wife disparaged my klezmer lecture that I had given to a group of senior citizens. She criticized me about this the other day, even though the lecture was more than a decade ago.

I had done an “edu-tainment” lecture at a JCC “LearnInn” retreat in 2011. I had gone light on the dancing (which Alice led) and heavy on the talking.

Alice, the lecture was not a concert. It was a lecture.

I’m doing a klez lecture next Wednesday at the Cleveland JCC. Alice wants to add a PowerPoint this time around.

I don’t do PowerPoints! Alice said she’ll assemble the PowerPoint. OK, maybe a couple photos of Yiddishe Cup from the good old days. That would will be palatable. But no bullet points or text on screen  — no way. I don’t need PowerPoint. I’m a good lecturer. I’ve been on stage a million times. I don’t read from notes. I have spoken at the national Yiddish Clubs conference. I was stellar at the Shaker Heights Unitarian Church. I take questions, I talk about klez, I play clarinet.

I don’t want too many pics of random shtetl Jews with violins!

This is more fun:

Yiddishe Cup. 1993