Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 7.019 June 16, 1997 1) Biographies of some authors (Estelle Souche) 2) Trochaic tetrameter in Yiddish (Joachim Neugroschel) 3) Aaron Lansky/NYBC on Yiddish Voice Radio and Web (Mark David) 4) The essence of modernity (Louis Fridhandler) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 12 Jun 1997 15:46:46 +0200 (MET DST) From: Estelle Souche Subject: Biographies of some authors I have found that Pesye Pomerants-Honigboym (sometimes spelled Pessie Pomerantz-Honigbaum) was born in 1900 and passed away on August 8, 1978 in Chicago, but I was partly wrong: Ms Pomerants' daughter told me by e-mail that her mother was buried in Chicago but died in Miami. All my apologies for such a mistake. (And the exact English spelling of her name was Bessie Hershfield-Pomerantz-Honigbaum). Thanks to Hugh Denman, I've also learnt that Avrom Bik was born in Kobrin in 1913, and that Reyzl Zhinkhlinski (spelled Rajzel Zychlinski in the Library of Congress Catalog) was born in 1910. A sheynem dank to all the Mendelyaners who helped me! Estelle Souche 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 13 Jun 1997 19:32:13 -0400 (EDT) From: ACHIM1 Subject: Trochaic tetrameter in Yiddish In regard to the intricate use that Leyzer Volf made of trochaic tetrameter in Yiddish, one can point to a number of other authors, Yiddish and non-Yiddish, who marched to that beat. Ansky, for instance, used it quite enviably in several verse narratives such as "Der Ginem" and "A Din-Toyre mit Got" (both 1908); (I'm including my translations of both pieces in my Ansky collection to be published this autumn). And outside of Yiddish, one could cite Goethe, "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" (Freud was the only person who took its subject matter seriously [alas!]. why, even the Disney version, starring Mickey Mouse in the title role, was tongue in cheek). Ansky's use is flexible, lyrical, complex, and quite pungent--it was a pleasure translating a lively and evocative meter that was totally devastated by Longfellow. I doubt whether it will inspire any emulation in English.... Joachim Neugroschel 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 14 Jun 1997 15:37:42 -0400 (EDT) From: mhd@world.std.com (Mark H. David) Subject: Aaron Lansky/NYBC on Yiddish Voice Radio and Web Aaron Lansky/NYBC on Yiddish Voice Radio and Web WUNR 1600 AM, Weds., June 18, 1997 http://world.std.com/~yv/ Boston's Yiddish-language radio program, The Yiddish Voice (WUNR-AM, 1600 in Brookline, MA), will present on Wednesday, June 18, 1997, 7:30 p.m., a report from the "khanukes habayis" (official dedication) of the new home of the National Yiddish Book Center in Amherst, MA In honor of this event, the Yiddish Voice will rebroadcast a recent interview with Aaron Lansky, the founder of the National Yiddish Book Center. This interview also will also appear as audio content on the Yiddish Voice Web site, marking the debut appearance of Yiddish Radio on the Internet. The following is from the Yiddish Voice Web Site: ------- Special Event! Listen to our Interview with Lansky via real audio here at our web site. In honor of the dedication of the new home of the National Yiddish Book Center, we are pleased to present the interview with Aaron Lansky. (Interviewer: Hasia Segal; engineer and producer: Mark David; time: 19 minutes, 4 seconds; original broadcast date: 20 November 1996) This audio recording will be available this week only (June 14-June 20, 1997). To obtain a realaudio player, visit the RealAudio Home Page (http://www.realaudio.com/) About Yiddish Audio on the Internet and at our web site: for the first time ever we are making Yiddish audio available at the click of a button on the Internet. We first introduced Yiddish audio to the Internet in May, 1996, by putting a rare recording of Sholem Aleichem on our web site. We have recently improved on the delivery process: we have obtained a realaudio server, and can now "stream out" audio in real time. That means: you can begin hearing the sounds seconds after you click, no matter how long the piece you're hearing. The material we present at this site will change from time to time, so stay tuned. We have been receiving many requests to expand our radio service in the direction of the net. We'd welcome your comments about this service via email: yv@world.std.com Our audio of Sholem Aleichem reading from his own work appears below on this page, with a brand new introduction by Henry Sapoznik. And don't miss our Station ID and Intro at the top of the page. ------- The Yiddish Voice is a weekly Yiddish-language radio show in Boston that features music, poetry, comedy, interviews, news, commentary, and announcements of current events. Additional contact information: dos yidishe kol / The Yiddish Voice WUNR Radio International 160 North Washington Street Boston, MA 02114 Voice: (617) 738-1870 / Email: yv@world.std.com Web: http://world.std.com/~yv/ Broadcast: WUNR 1600 AM / Wednesdays 7:30-8:30pm Mark David Brookline, MA 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 14 Jun 1997 15:39:06 -0400 (EDT) From: Lfridhan@aol.com Subject: The essence of modernity I'll start with this: The references to Yehoyesh's translation of Hiawatha in TMR 1.008 (Mendele's companion in scholarship) reminded me of how I reacted some years ago when I read some lines: in Yehoyesh's translation. Hiawatha's grandmother, Nokomis, is often described as _di altetshke_, tsum bayshpil: dort di altetshke Nokomis oyfgebrakht hot Hayavatan [a side issue: oyfgebrakht here means _brought up_, but it usually means _outraged, incensed_.] There are references to vigvam (wigwam) and vompom (wampum). It is obviously difficult to transport the fantasied essence of that culture into Yiddish. More striking to me was: opgeredt im hot Nokomis, dokh gezogt hot Hayavata: "Zise bobenyu, Nokomis, "s'varemt lib dos heymish fayer "ober mir dos shayn fun shtern, "der levone glants iz liber." As Hiawatha talks to his grandmother Nokomis he addresses her as _zise bobenyu_ (sweet grandma). Interjection of bobenyu, the Yiddish endearing diminutive for bobe, struck me as loving, Yiddishly dignified, but, in the context of the stoic dignity imagined of native Americans, as somewhat hilarious. But Yiddish can't be Yiddish without those endearing diminutives. That's how it has been for many, many years. It's old, but still thoroughly modern. Which brings me to Claus Buryn's exhortation, "Let's read something modern!" (7.018, 1). By all means. Go ahead. Read and report. We'd all love to hear. But there is no need to imagine we must set _anything_ aside. Our choices in Yiddish are pluralistic, not mutually exclusive. To illustrate my point on the essence of modernity: It was a joy to see and hear (on TV) the indomitable 76-year-old Isaac Stern play his heart out drawing out the magic of a Bach violin concerto at the 60th anniversary celebration of the Israel Philharmonic. The passionate feelings Bach expressed in the 1700s are as modern as anything composed today. Passionate feelings expressed in the Yiddish of geniuses a hundred years ago are also ever modern. Works of genius are never out of date. To suggest that we set aside any Yiddish treasure is a suggestion old and moribund at birth. Louis Fridhandler ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 7.019