Book Club: Never Again Will I Visit Auschwitz

About Never Again Will I Visit Auschwitz: A Graphic Family Memoir of Trauma & Inheritance

In this debut graphic memoir, New York-based artist Ari Richter weaves together two haunting stories – his grand- and great-grandparents’ imprisonment in Dachau, Buchenwald, and Auschwitz, and his own awakening to the contemporary rise of authoritarianism and the continuing crisis of anti-Semitism – with delicacy, immediacy, and an attention to surreal detail.

Never Again Will I Visit Auschwitz is an act of self-discovery and the resuscitation of historical memory. At its heart is the intersection of a genocidal political moment in 20th century history and the author’s own family history. Told from the perspectives of four generations of the author’s family, spanning pre-war Germany to post-Trump America, it is both a celebration of Jewish cultural resilience and a warning of democracy’s fragility in the face of the seductive forces of authoritarianism. Part travelogue, part memoir, part historic retelling, author Ari Richter recreates his family’s journey leading up to and extending beyond the Holocaust.

Relying on extensive genealogical research and his family’s archiving, Richter illustrates the lives of his grandparents while reflecting on the burden of a storyteller to carry on these legacies. It is a rare glimpse into the firsthand stories of both Holocaust survivors and their descendants, told as an intertwined tapestry of faith, grief, and ultimately, survival. Never Again Will I Visit Auschwitz is an intimate reflection on coming to grips with the past. Harrowing and humorous in equal measure, this evocatively drawn graphic novel will be discussed for generations to come.

Program

Ari Richter will present his book in an opening talk, with questions and discussion to follow. Even if you have not read his work, you are invited to attend the opening talk, ask questions, and be part of the discussion.

Our Guest and the Author: Ari Richter

Ari Richter is a New York-based visual artist and comics creator, born in Tampa, FL in 1983. He received a fully public education from grade school to grad school, and is currently a Professor of Fine Arts at LaGuardia Community College in The City University of New York. Hi debut book, Never Again Will I Visit Auschwitz: A Graphic Family Memoir of Trauma & Inheritance is out now from Fantagraphics Books.

Richter has received fellowships from the Mellon Foundation/American Council of Learned Societies, and the Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture, multiple project grants from the CUNY Research Foundation, and residencies from the Vermont Studio Center, the Woodward Residency and the University of Texas at Dallas. His drawings, sculptures, videos and performances have been presented at The Skirball Cultural Center, The National Museum of American Jewish History, The Tampa Museum of Art, The Spartanburg Art Museum, The Weatherspoon Art Museum, The Bruce High Quality Foundation University, Flux Factory, CentralTrak, Athens Institute for Contemporary Art, Nexus Foundation for Today's Art, and Celebrate Brooklyn! festival. His graphic work has been featured in Hyperallergic and Tablet Magazine.

Co-Sponsor

We are pleased to present this program / book club in conjunction with The Jewish Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas. Ari Richter’s grandfather, one of the characters in his graphic novel, served as rabbi in Sioux Falls, SD, upon fleeing Europe.

Finding the Book:

Directly From the Publisher

Amazon, both in print and for Kindle

The book can also be ordered through other bookstores. Copies can also now be checked out of many larger library systems