Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 3.072 August 5, 1993 1) Reyzl's postings (Meylekh Viswanath) 2) Reyzl's postings (Ellen Prince) 3) Pseudonymity (Alef Shtumer) 4) Memorial to Peretz Miransky (Gurion Hyman) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon Aug 2 21:43:18 1993 From: Meylekh Viswanath Subject: Reyzl's postings I forgot to add in my previous posting that I enjoy Reyzl's discourses, and would not discourage her from sending in long postings. Meylekh. 2)------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 05 Aug 1993 15:19:03 From: "Ellen F. Prince" Subject: Reyzl's posts reyzl, thanks--that was FASCINATING! one trivial little free association: a few years ago i was in israel in mid-winter and poinsettias were all the rage there. i found it really jarring at first until i realized i'd endowed these tropical euphorbias with the semiotics of christmas! to reyzl: my vote is a resounding no, you do NOT need to learn how to write shorter postings!!! please keep up the type you've been doing! ellen prince 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue Aug 3 23:21:38 1993 From: Alef Shtumer Subject: Pseudonymity I may be opening a can of worms, Pandora's chemidan, - or nothing at all, but I propose that you publish the following (you will see why) strictly pseudonymously - under the pseudonym Alef Shtumer (not to be confused with Lamed Shapiro). Slobodjanskj has indeed given pseudonymity a bad name, some of you finding not just Slobo but all the pseudonmymous irresponsible, immoral, repulsive, and unnecessary. Reyzl K-W, and, earlier, David Miller said something about Yiddish pseudonyms, who used them and why. Reyzl gives one cheer for pseudonymity; let me raise her to two. Mendele is not (just ?) a scientific journal, or - kholile ! - a 'journal of record'. Literary people, musicians, etc in many traditions wrote and write pseudonymously, and anonymously. For good reasons. (See Kalifowicz-Waletzky and Miller for several.) Many writers have reviewed themselves pseudonymously, and anonymously, the pseudonyms being more and less transparent to the meyvens. Someone told me last week that the Scottish poet Hugh MacDiarmid rushed into print six anonymous reviews of a collection of his poems then about to come out.The poems were good, he must have had interesting things to say in his reviews of them, and they would have helped to advance his embattled career. For Mendelniks with unused multiple Yiddish literary personalities, sheydim, alter egos, second skins, etc, I for one would like to hear from, e.g., An Andere Akhed Haam, Di Makhetey Nister, Khas & Sholem (the Yiddish Penn and Teller), et al., if the shames is willing to entertain their communications, and vice versa. Or are we now beyond all this? Sincerely, Alef Shtumer PS . Miriam Halkin's note suggests the fascinating picture of Lingua Franca or whoever having their house 'Witch' of Endor call up the ghost of the late Mrs Halkin to discover the 'true' identity of Philologus. This, I learn from the last Mendele bulletins, is no longer necessary. Halkin's dekl iz gut geblozn. Too bad. It's lucky the National Enquirer isn't interested in Yiddish." 4)---------------------------------------------------- From Date: Thu Aug 5 17:34:34 1993 From: Avi_J._Hyman@magic-bbs.corp.apple.com Organization: M A G I C Subject: Memorial to Peretz Miransky It is with deep sadness that I present here a memorial to the Yiddish poet Peretz Miransky who passed away on Saturday, July 10, 1993. He was one of the two remaining intellectuals of Yung Vilna (the other is A. Sutzkever who is living in Israel). Yung Vilna was a famous group of poets and writers that flourished in Lithuania before the Shoah. Miransky was the holder of many awards for his poetry and fables. I have chosen to present here his poem "Main Tatns Nign" followed by my translation into English. I was proud and honoured to have worked with Miransky and to set some of his poems to music. Gurion Hyman, Toronto ******* Main Tatns Nign (My Father's Chant) by Peretz Miransky main tatns nign fun fartogn / geit alts mir nokh mit frume trit. / di psukim vortslen in zikorn, / nor s'zingt der nign in gemit P a nign bloiz, nor sara khidesh, / er vert fun yorn nit farblast, / ikh hob main mame-loshn yidish / tsum tatns nign tsugepast. un s'zingen zikh di yidish-verter / azoy mir lib, azoy mir voil, / punkt vi amol, an oisgetrerter, / der t'hilim in main tatns moil. der zelber troyeriker nign, / der zelber betndiker ruf, er flegt amol mikh zis farvign, / haint vekt er mikh fun kholem uf. tsi veln maine kinder hern / dem nign, ven ikh vel avek? / der sofek ruft zikh op mit trern, / di trern leshn nit main shrek. nor kh'brum main tatns altn nign, / derkumendik tsu main fargein. / der nign vet mikh shtil farvign / un blaibn af main keiver shtein. Translation by Gurion Hyman My father's chant in early morning / still follows me with pious steps. / The phrases rooted in my mem'ry, / but in my spirit sings his chant P It's just a chant, but what a wonder, / the years have still not bleached it pale, / I set my mother-tongue, my Yiddish, / to my father's melody. And how they sing, my Yiddish words, beloved, and wonderful, to me, / just as when, all filled with tears, / the Psalms were in my father's mouth. The same sad chanting, full of sorrow, / the same sad, yearning, pleading call, / it used to rock my cradle sweetly, / today it wakes me from my dream. Yet will my children ever hear it, / the melody when I am gone? / My doubts respond with tears, / the tears can never quench my fear. But still I hum my father's nign, / as I approach my last dim days. / And then the quiet chant will rock me, and, silent, rest on my grave stone. ***** Anyone wishing a copy of the music for this poem can send me a self-addressed stamped envelope with a note and I'll send it along: Gurion Hyman - 38 Avenal Drive Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M6C 1V4 ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 3.072