David Lehman’s new book A Fine Romance: Jewish Songwriters, American Songs is a warm and witty look at the Jewish writers of the great American songbook. In this special Valentine’s Day presentation, he imparts some of his vast knowledge in the form of poems, anecdotes, a little history, a lot of enthusiasm, and a number of well-chosen musical illustrations, such as Rodgers and Hart’s My Funny Valentine, and Jerome Kern’s All the Things You Are.

David Lehman is a prodigious poet, writer, editor, and teacher. He has received fellowships and awards from the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and has taught at Columbia, NYU, Bennington College, and the New School. He initiated The Best American Poetry series in 1988.

Recorded Sunday, February 14, 2010 at Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies.