Krupp Library: A Bisl Yiddish: Day 2: Literature and Translation

Poetry

Six Lines by Aaron Zeitlin
Translated from the Yiddish by Miranda Cooper.

Efnt dem toyer by Kadya Molodowsky

Rokhl Korn
Two poems by Rohkl Korn: "Springtime Back Home" (May 1941, Przemysl) and "Seems It Had to Be" (September 1941, Ufa).
Both poems were translated from the Yiddish by Miriam Isaacs.

A Comic Monologue by Der Tunkeler
Der Tunkeler is the pseudonym of Yoysef Tunkel (1881-1949). In this comic monologue, Der Tunkeler lists all the things he hates. The article was published in the PaknTreger, the magazine of the Yiddish Book Center.
The Yiddishists
Translated from the Yiddish by Ri J. Turner and published online in "In Geveb": a Journal of Jewish Studies.

Voices of Polish Jewish Youth

Autobiographies of Polish Jewish Youth in the 1930s
Three stories that are taken from a collection of autobiographies received during competitions held in 1932, 1934 and 1939 by the YIVO Institute in Vilna.

YIddish Women Writers

Celebrating Women Writers
A special feature in PaknTreger magazine published by the Yiddish Book Center. The article also contains links to podcasts, newly translated texts by women writers, oral histories, blogs, and artword.

Short Works in Translation

A selection of short works in translation.
From the YIddish Book Center "Language, Literature, & Culture" pages of the website.

Online Yiddish/English Dictionaries

Yiddish/English Dictionary
This is an interactive dictionary where you can search or input words or phrases to generate the translations. From the University of Kentucky College of Engineering.
YIddish Word Lists
Yiddish words with the English translations are grouped according to categories. For example, Around the House, Clothing, Animals, Birds, Legal Terms, Colors, etc. From https://derbay.org/

Go On a Nature Walk with Mikhl

Actor, playwright and Yiddishist Mikhl Yashinsky (https://yashinsky.com/) goes on a nature walk as part of a series of short, whimsical videos that explore the Yiddish language. There is a glossary of words at the end of each video. This project is a collaboration between The Workers Circle and Mikhl Yashinsky #YiddishAlive. New videos will be produced regularly.

If you feel inspired, you could make a video to teach a few Yiddish words and post it on our ABisl Yiddish FlipGrid or use any other video tool and share it with our group.

Short Stories by Sholem Aleichem (1859-1916)

These short excerpts from the documentary film “Sholem Aleichem: Laughing in the Darkness” by Joseph Dorman. This documentary focuses on the influence of three stories by the author and provides an insight into life of the shtetl.

Sholem Aleichem and the Challenges of Modernity
An exploration of the life and works of the great Yiddish writer, Sholem Aleichem. This collection of articles, photographs, and video clips from the documentary, "Sholem Aleichem: Laughing in the Darkness," provides a fascinating overview of the writer and his world. From FacingHistory.org.
A Yom Kippur Scandal
Ten Stories by Sholem Aleichem
Recommended by Professor Jeremy Dauber, Columbia University

"We Moofe" from Motl the Cantor's Son
Sholem-Aleikhem, Motl Peyse dem Khazns, ed. Chone Shmeruk (Magnes Press, 1997)

Tevye the Dairyman and the Railroad Stories by Sholem Aleichem
Call Number: FIC Sho
ISBN: 9780805210699
Publication Date: 1996-10-01

Choose Your Own Yiddish Adventure

A Country Doctor by Franz Kafka
First 20-30 minutes: Translate the first page of Franz Kafka's short story, A Country Doctor. Replace each word containing the letter "e" with an equivalent word.We will compare our "translations" to see how we individually interpreted the first page of this story.
Podcast: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in Yiddish
Next 30 minutes: Listen to The Schmooze’s interview with Arun Schaechter-Viswanath, translator of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone into Yiddish
This is episode 247 (20 minutes) of the Schmooze, a series of podcasts broadcast by the Yiddish Book Center. The Schmooze is also available on SoundCloud.
Daniel Kahn sings "Hallelujah."
Video of Daniel Kahn's performance of his Yiddish translation of Leonard Cohen's song "Hallelujah."
Daniel Kahn sings, "March of the Unemployed"
Video of Daniel Kahn and the Painted Bird band singing Kahn's translation of, "March of the Unemployed." This video is also posted on "Day 3: Music" in this Library Guide.
"March of the Unemployed" Lyrics
Compare the two versions of English lyrics. Scroll up to the top of the web page to see the lyrics.

Bulbes song audio
Listen to the Bulbes song and practice reading the words.
Teach some of the words to someone in your home and record the two of you reading the words.
Bulbes song lyrics
Lyrics in Yiddish characters, with the the Yiddish transliteration and an English translation.