For citizens with a literary bent, this week’s major highlight is the Hyman S. and Freda Bernstein Jewish Literary Festival, running all week long, mainly at the Jewish Community Center at 1529 16th Street, NW. Highlights include Peter Beinart and Rebecca Goldstein, plenty of panel discussions, a poetry reading, and an appearance by Madeleine Albright, who makes some time while planning her forthcoming libel suit against ABC. A full schedule of this week’s Festival highlights follows below.
Elsewhere:
MONDAY
Do you want Mohr? I said, do you want Mohr? Well, you’re gonna get more Mohr than you know what to do with, as Frederick Reuss discusses Mohr: A Novel at the Chevy Chase Public Branch Library, 5625 Connecticut Ave. NW., at 6:30 p.m.
TUESDAY
Physiologically speaking, proteins are enormously helpful in powering the human mind and body. But what happens when good proteins go bad? Well, they become prions, and baby, those prions will mess you UP! Learn all about it from the sleekly named D.T. Max, who’ll be holding forth on his book The Family That Couldn’t Sleep: A Medical Mystery. Olsson’s Books & Records, 418 7th St. NW., 7 p.m.
WEDNESDAY
Harold Kushner wrote the book on Overcoming Life’s Disappointments. So, if his discussion fails to live up to expectations, at least you’ll know how to cope. Ripley Center, 1100 Jefferson Drive SW., 6:30 p.m. $25.
THURSDAY
You got to hand it to the Italians. They live life like they invented it. And they play soccer dirty as all get out. Author Beppe Severgnini gets to the root of the Italian psyche on matters of public life, sex, and, of course, cuisine in La Bella Figura. Politics and Prose, 5015 Connecticut Avenue, NW, 7 p.m.
SATURDAY
You may not know the name Kevin Clash, but if you’ve raised a small child in the past decade, he’s been of massive cultural importance to you. Come to Olsson’s in Arlington to meet the Master Puppeteer Behind Elmo — My Life As A Furry Red Monster. 2111 Wilson Blvd., 11 a.m.
SUNDAY
Okay. You probably won’t believe this, but not all of the billions of dollars shoveled in the general direction of Iraq ended up in the hands of competent nation-builders. I know: shocking! Come to Politics and Prose to meet T. Christian Miller, who’ll tell you where your cash went as he discusses his book Blood Money. 5 p.m.
