Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 2 no. 50 July 30, 1992 1) Galitsianer (Mikhl Herzog) 2) Country Yossi (Ellen Prince) 3) Galitsianer (Bob Werman) 4) Montreal update (Zachary Baker) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 29 Jul 92 15:49 EDT From: ZOGUR@CUVMB.Columbia.edu Subject: Galitsianer Ellen is right about thew usual features by which Galician Jews are stereotyped. The reasons for the difference from the stereotype of local non-Jews has interested me. Like all stereotypes, there seems to have been some difference between the stereotype and reality. I'm not particularly proud of NOT being a G-man but I always figured that there must have been something special in the drinking water when I encountered colleagues like Salo Baron and I.I. Rabi at the Jewish Studies Seminar at Columbia. Or, think of Freud and his entire early circle. Any theories out there about historical or sociological ca the negative stereotyping among Jews? Mikhl Herzog. 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 29 Jul 92 16:20:09 -0400 From: "Ellen F. Prince" Subject: re: Country Yossi revisited [Dave Sherman:] *my* problem with country yossi and his ilk is that (1)his audience tends to think this is yiddish music, (2)it is not yiddish--it is english (or yinglish) with lots of borrowings, (3)his audience (not you, of course) tends not to listen to 'real' yiddish music. if he's taken for what he is--a contemporary version of burlesque, in english, and with a missionary zeal in his proselytizing--then i have no complaint or criticism. i should add that i don't blame country yossi et al. for this situation--it's the 'jewish' radio hosts that i blame. whether it's their personal taste at play or a matter of payola, i don't know, but, for each isa kremer- or moishe oisher-type song they play, one has to sit thru at least 20 country yossi- type chefs d'oeuvre. this is true at least in ny (wevd, art raymond) and in philadelphia (wibf, barry reisman). ellen prince 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 30 Jul 92 5:53 +0300 From: RWERMAN%HUJIVMS.bitnet@YaleVM.YCC.Yale.Edu Subject: Galitsianer I would never have believed that I would write a public defense of Galitsianer, but ... When I told my late father, Sancha, z"l, that I intended to marry [Golda], he asked where "they" came from. I said, "Jersey City." He answered, "No, before that." "Berlin." "Before that." "Tarnov." A look of shock. Then, "I warned you about shickses and I warned you about schvartze, but I always thought you had enough sechel on your own not to marry a galitsianer." Golda did, however, soon become a favorite of my father's too. For those who want to hear beautiful spoken Yiddish, I suggest they listen to records of the marvelous - unfortunately dead now - Israeli comedians, Dzigan and Schumacher, who were Galitsianer through and through. For the stereotypes: remember Nobel Prize winner and proud galitsianer, S.Y. Agnon, who puts the lie to each and every one of the pejoratives mentioned by Ellen. __Bob Werman rwerman@hujivms.bitnet rwerman@vms.huji.ac.il Jerusalem 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: July 30, 1992 From: Zachary Baker (BM.YIB@RLG.BITNET) Subject: Montreal update A few brief postscripts to my lengthy paean to Jewish Montreal (MENDELE 2.49): EXHIBIT: "Tur Malka: Two Centuries of Jewish Life in Montreal," showing at the Canadian Jewish Congress, Aug. 3-Sept. 4, 1992 (Mon.-Thu., 10 a.m.-4 p.m.; Fri., 10 a.m.-2 p.m.). Address: 1590 Docteur Penfield (intersection of Cote des Neiges). Tel. (514) 931-7531. From Sept. 15-Oct. 31, 1992, this exhibit will be at the Mercier Maison de la Culture, 8105, rue Hochelaga. (Tues.-Thu., 1 p.m.-9 p.m.; Fri.-Sun., 1 p.m.-5 p.m.) Tel. (514) 872-8755 (fluency in French recommended). According to my information, a special performance of "Di shvegerns [Les belles-soeurs]," by Michel Tremblay, will be mounted at the Mercier Maison de la Culture on Sept. 15th. LIBRARY: An exceptional, but only partially cataloged collection of Yiddish poetry, the Joseph Fishstein collection, is at the McLennan Library of McGill University. For information, contact Goldie Sigal, at (514) 398-4790 or (514) 486-9588. RESTAURANT: Brown Derby, in Van Horne shopping plaza (Van Horne & Victoria). "Kosher-style," with an ambience and menu that are fast disappearing south of the Canadian border. Includes such Eastern Ashkenazic delicacies as karnatsl and (ugh) ptsha, alongside Southern fried chicken and key lime pie. BIBLIOGRAPHY: Novels by Mordecai Richler: "The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz," "St. Urbain's Horseman," "Joshua Then and Now," and "Solomon Gursky Was Here." "An Everyday Miracle: Yiddish Culture in Montreal," edited by Ira Robinson et al. Montreal: Vehicule, 1990 Zachary Baker, YIVO Library [The shames notes with sadness that his otherwise faultless colleague has an aversion for ptsha/ptsya/petcha. But, as the b'laz speakers of Montreal say: des gouts et des couleurs on ne discute pas.] ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol 2.50 If your message is intended for MENDELE, please write to: mendele@vax1.trincoll.edu If you want to discuss personal business or have a shmues with the shames, please write to: nmiller@vax1.trincoll.edu Please sign your articles.