Jan 14, 2019
INTRODUCTION
We’re living in an exciting moment for the translation of Yiddish literature. Thanks to organizations like the Yiddish Book Center and the interest and enthusiasm of Yiddish learners, translators, and publication venues, a wide variety of Yiddish translations are increasingly available that showcase the diversity of Yiddish literary history and production.
This is the first of what we hope will be an annual effort to gather together the Yiddish translations published this past year. It is our hope that this list helps to make these translations, published in literary venues across linguistic and cultural lines, more easily searchable for audiences with specifically Yiddish interests.
We know that this is not an exhaustive list, and we need your help to make it better! If you translated, or read a translation, of something published in 2018 that does not appear on this list, please write to translate@ingeveb.org so that we can include it. We also know that English is far from the only language of Yiddish translation, and while there are few translations into other languages that appear on this list, simply because of the limitations of its compilers, we are eager to add translations from Yiddish into any language.
Below you will find a list of single-author books of Yiddish translations into English, followed by a list of individual pieces translated into English, listed by publication, followed by a list of translations from Yiddish into other languages. Where possible we have included a link to the translation itself, and where there is no link, a citation is provided.
Periodicals, Anthologies, and Online Publications: English
Periodicals, Anthologies, and Online Publications: French
Periodicals, Anthologies, and Online Publications: Polish
Periodicals, Anthologies, and Online Publications: Hebrew
Single-Author Books: Lithuanian
Single-Author Books: Belarusian
Periodicals, Anthologies, and Online Publications: Belarusian
Single-Author Books: English
Israel Aszendorf. The Collected Stories of Israel Aszendorf.. Trans. Alexander Ashendorf. CreateSpace, 2018.
Collected translated, and published by the author’s son.
Yakov Leshchinsky. The Jewish Worker in Russia. Trans. Robert Brym. Slavica Publishers, 2018.
Leshchinsky’s The Jewish Worker in Russia (1906), a combination political pamphlet, theoretical excursus, and empirical analysis.
Yenta Mash. On the Landing: Stories by Yenta Mash. Trans. Ellen Cassedy, with an afterward co-authored by Jessica Kirzane. Northern Illinois University Press, 2018.
Sixteen stories by Yenta Mash documenting Jewish Bessarabia, daily life behind the Iron Curtain in Soviet Moldova, and the challenges of assimilation in Israel.
Moyshe Nadir. Messiah in America. Trans. Miachael Shapiro. Farlag Press, 2018.
Moyshe Nadir’s satirical play “Meshiekh in amerike,” a drama in five acts.
Bernard Weinstein. The Jewish Unions in America: Pages of History and Memories.. Trans. Maurice Wolfthal. Open Book Publisher, 2018.
Part memoir, part historical chronicle centered around Weinstein’s activities in the United Hebrew Trades.
Samuel Zagat. Gimpel Beynish the Matchmaker by Samuel Zagat, vol. 7., second ed. Trans. Jane Pepper. CreateSpace, 2018.
Classic Yiddish comic strip, compiled, translated, and published by Jane Peppler.
Periodicals, Anthologies, and Online Publications: English
In the Land of Happy Tears: Yiddish Tales for Modern Times, Collected and edited by David Stromberg. Penguin Random House, 2018.
A collection of eighteen short stories for children collected and edited by David Stromberg. Included an introduction and a “Glossary of Untranslatables.”
- Moyshe Nadir, “In the Land of Happy Tears,” trans. David Stromberg
- Leon Elbe, “An Autumn Tale,” trans. Lena Watson
- Jacob Kreplak, “Broken In,” trans. Lena Watson
- Leon Elbe, “The Moon and the Little Boy,” trans. Sandra Chiritescu
- Jacob Reisfeder, “The Little Boy with the Samovar,” trans. Ri J. Turner & David Stromberg
- Moyshe Nadir, “The King Who Licked Honey,” trans. David Stromberg
- Sonya Kantor, “The Kingdom of Ants and Mushrooms,” trans. Debra Caplan
- Moyshe Nadir, “The Wise Hat,” trans. David Stromberg
- Jacob Reisfeder, “The Diamond Prince,” trans. Ri J. Turner & David Stromberg
- Jacob Kreplak, “The Bird Catcher,” trans. Lena Watson
- Leon Elbe, “The Paper Kite,” trans. Sandra Chiritescu
- Jacob Reisfeder, “Two Sisters,” trans. Ri J. Turner & David Stromberg
- Jacob Kreplak, “A Fight,” trans. Lena Watson
- Moyshe Nadir, “The Broken Mirror,” trans. David Stromberg
- Sonya Kantor, “A Squirrel’s Diary,” trans. Lena Watson
- Rachel Shabad, “Gur Aryeh,” trans. Sandra Chiritescu
- Jacob Reisfeder, “A Treasure in the Snow,” trans. Gavin Beinart-Smollan & David Stromberg
- Rachel Shabad, “The Enchanted Castle,” trans. Sandra Chiritescu
Pakn Treger 2018 Translation Issue: A Moveable Shtetl, edited by Eitan Kensky, 2018.
This year’s Pakn Treger Translation Issue centers arould transport: trains, planes, and droshkelekh . . .
- M. J. Berdyczewski, “The Smith; Or, A Tale of a Man Who Poisoned His Wife,” trans. James Adam Redfield
- Israel Emiot, “Los Angeles,” trans. Leah Zazulyer
- Yenta Serdatsky, “An Old Woman With Young Dreams,” trans. Jessica Kirzane
- Rokhl Korn, “Exodus, 1947,” trans. Miriam Isaacs
- Z. H. Wachsman, “Greetings from the Surviving Remnants of the Jewish People: A travek report by Rabbi Eliezer Silver,” trans. Noah Barrera
- Avrom Sutzkever, “An Answer to a Letter,” trans. Zackary Sholem Berger
- Itsik Manger, “Abraham Sends Eliezer to find a Wife for Isaac,” trans. Murray Citron
- Sholem Aleichem, “Happy New Year,” trans. Curt Leviant
- Melech Ravitsh, “Wind, Snow, a Completely Darkened Forest, a Frozen River, and Me in the Middle of It All,” trans. Helen Mintz
- Moyshe Kulbak, “A Train,” trans. Daniel Kennedy
- Avrom Sutzkever, “To a Friend,” trans. James Nadell
- Avrom Sutzkever, “Am I Seeing, from a Speeding Train,” trans. Maia Evrona
- Joseph Opatoshu, “Erev shabes on a New York Trolley, from Hibru,” trans. Shulamith Berger
- Debora Vogel/Dvoyre Fogel, “Sunday of Suburban Houses,” trans. Anastasiya Lyubas
- Beyle Shaechter-Gottesman, “We Travel,” trans. Miranda Cooper, Raphael Halff, Zeke Levine and Elissa Sperling
Radiant Jargon: Six Poems About Yiddish, Yiddish Book Center
A bilingual chapbook of six poems in praise of Yiddish, published by the Yiddish Book Center as a gift for members.
- Maia Evrona, “Hidden Yiddish,” trans. Maia Evrona (Poem originally written in English)
- “The Alef-Beys” (Folklore). Trans. Sophia Shoulson
- Arkady Gendler, “Sing in Yiddish,” trans. Adah Hetko
- Jacob Glatstein, “My Tent,” trans. Richard Fein
- Morris Winchevsky, “Jargon,” trans. Miranda Cooper
- Michael Yashinsky, “Tongue-Love,” trans. Michael Yashinsky
In geveb: A Journal of Yiddish Studies
A little online journal you may or may not have heard of.
- Henryk Berlewi, “Jewish Artists in Contemporary Russian Art,” trans. Rachel Field
- Celia Dropkin, “The Ballad of the Old Woman with the Basket and the Passengers on a Refugee Ship” and “Pigeons on Welfare Island,” trans. Shoshana Olidert
- Leon Kobrin, “Blessed is the True Judge,” trans. Jessica Kirzane
- Shloyme Gilbert, “Hunger: Monologue of a Dog.” trans. Zuzanna Łapa and Jack Ford
- Malka Lee, “Wounded,” trans. Maia Evrona
- Itsik Manger, “Excerpts from the Megile Lider,” trans. Hershl Hartman
- Boris Sandler, “Green Apples from the Garden of Eden,” trans. Jordan Kutzik
- Fishl Shneerson, “Excerpt from Excerpt from Chaim Gravitzer,” trans. Ri J Turner
- Getsl Selikovitch, “A Tomato’s Last Good Deeds,” trans. Michael Shapiro
- Solomon Simon, “The Fate of our Yiddishist Schools,” trans. David Forman (part I,part II)
- Vilne Komitet, “Committee for the Collection of Materials on the Destruction of the Jews in Poland, 1939. Bulletin no. 3,” trans. Joshua Price
- Rachel Wischnitzer, “The Motif of the Porch,” trans. Rachelle Grossman and Saul Noam Zaritt
- Aaron Zeitlin, “Keter: Fragments of a Rhapsody,” trans. Nathan Wolski
Yiddish Book Center Website
The Yiddish Book Center’s website continues to be a solid venue for texts in translation.
- Anonymous, “The World in the Year 2058,” trans. Patrick Casiano
- Sholem-Yankev Abramovitsh, “Letter on the Subject of Education,” trans. Ri J Turner
- S. Cohen, “On Bloody Paths,” trans. Dan Setzer
- Ayzik Meyer Dik, “Reb Yudl Shloboner or The Beautiful Minke,”trans. Ruth Murphy
- Mordechai Gebertig, “Our Town is Burning” and “A Beam of Sunlight,” trans Murray Citron
- Rokhl Korn, “A New House,” trans. Seymour Levitan
- Rokhl Korn, “Destined to Create,” trans. Mikhl Yashinsky
- Arn Riklis, “A New Year’s Eve State of Mind,” trans. Ri J. Turner
- Boris Sandler, “Solomon and Shulamite,” trans. Jordan Kutzik
- Boris Sandler, “Daddy’s Day,” trans. Jordan Kutzik
- Sholem Aleichem, “The Esrog,” trans. Curt Leviant
- Sholem Aleichem, “The Yom Kippur Cantor—Someone to Envy,” trans. Curt Leviant
Brooklyn Rail, In translation
CCAR Journal, Dec. 2018
- Y. Adler, “Elul,” trans. Jessica Kirzane
Dibur, “Poetic Currency: A Poetry Dossier,” ed. Adriana X. Jacobs
- Dvoyre Fogel, “The Legend of the Bank Houses,” “Legend of Gold Ships,” “Legend of Silver,” trans. Anna Elena Torres
Ezra: An Online Journal of Translation
- Avrom Sutzkever, “My Fingers Wandered Together,” “A Funeral by Day, A Concert by Night” and “You Quivering Wave,” trans. Maia Evrona
Hayden’s Ferry Review
- Boris Sandler, “Novella: Meyer the Angel,” trans. Jordan Kutzik
Jewish Currents
- Yenta Mash, “Bread,” trans. Ellen Cassedy
Los Angeles Review of Books
- Isaac Bashevis Singer, “In the Beginning . . .” trans. David Stromberg
Lunch Ticket
- Avrom Sutzkever, “Those Green-Green Eyes,” “The Clay of Time,” “In Memory of Uri-Tsvi Greenberg,” “A Face in the Window,” “Our Terror is the Terror of Ponar and Majdanek,” “It Drew Us Both Here,” trans. Maia Evrona
- Winner of the Gabo Translation Prize
PEN America
As a winner of a 2018 PEN/Heim Translation Grant, this excerpt is featured on the website of PEN America.
- Fishl Shneerson, “Excerpt from Excerpt from Chaim Gravitzer” trans. Ri J Turner
Public Semiar
- Isaac Bashevis Singer, “Socrates and His Teaching,” trans. David Stromberg
Pusteblume
- Avrom Sutzkever, “The Distant is Drawing Near,” “I Will Be Again Where I Once Was,” “The Street Sweeper” and “When I Suddenly Shake the Shards of Night From My Eyes,” trans. Maia Evrona
Samovar
- Der Nister, “Walking,” trans. Joseph Tomaras
Splendor, Decline, and Rediscovery of Yiddish in Latin America. Ed. Malena Chinski & Alan Astro. Brill, 2018.
Volume 10 of the series Jewish Latin America, containing two stories from Uruguay translated by Alan Astro.
- Shloyme Zytner, “A great achievement,” trans. Alan Astro
- Elie Verblun, “Berman & Bernstein, Inc.” trans. Alan Astro
Tupelo Quarterly
- Avrom Sutzkever, “A Horizon of Furious Salt,” trans. Maia Evrona
- Avrom Sutzkever, “Out of Amused Solitude, At a Flea Market in Paris,” trans, Maia Evrona 1 1 The latter poem was included as part of a selection of translated poems called “Cities Built from Poems; Poetry of Place”
Queen Mob’s Teahouse, Queer Translations Issue 2018
- Miriam Karpilov, Excerpt from Excerpt from Diary of a Lonely Girl or the Battle Against Free Love by Miriam Karpilovby Miriam Karpilov, trans. Jessica Kirzane
Your Impossible Voice
- Miriam Karpilov, “Mutual Consent,” excerpt from Diary of a Lonely Girl or the Battle Against Free Love, trans. Jessica Kirzane
Single-Author Books: French
Eli Chekhtman. Erev, à la veille de… Trad. Rachel Ertel. Buchet-Chastel, 2018.
A new edition of Eli Shekhtman’s Erev, translated by Rachel Ertel.
Avrom Reyzen. L’ homme qui causa la chute du temple. Trad. Nadia Déhan Rotschild. Bibliothéque Medem, 2018.
The latest addition to the Medem Library’s “Yiddish.minibilingues” series: a bilingual edition of Reyzen’s “Der yid vos hot khorev gemakht dem templ” transated by Nadia Déhan Rotschild.
Sholem-Aleikhem. Les mille et une nuits de Krushnik. Trad. Nadia Déhan Rotschild & Evelyne Grumberg. Éditions de l’antilope, 2018.
Sholem Aleichem’s Mayses fun toyznt eyn nakht in a lively translation by Nadia Déhan Rotschild & Evelyne Grumberg.
Sholem Shtern. Mon Voyage au Canada. Trad. Pierre Anctil, préface de Chantal Ringuet. Éditions du Noroît, 2018
Sholem Shtern’s memoir translated by Pierre Anctil, with a preface by Chantal Ringuet.
Isaac Bashevis Singer. Keila la Rouge. Trad. Marie-Pierre Bay & Nicolas Castelnau-Bay. Stock, 2018.
Translation of Singer’s novel Yarme un Keyle, based on the unpublished English version by Joseph Singer. With an Italian version appearing last year, and a German version due out this year, surely we won’t have much longer to wait for the English version to finally be released?
Periodicals, Anthologies, and Online Publications: French
Les écrits, Revue de l’Académie des lettres du Québec: “Suite yiddish.”
- Rokhl Korn, “Le début d’un poème,” “Je reste dans le midi de ta vie,” “Prédestination,” “De le autre côté du poème,” trad. Chantal Ringuet
- Kadya Molodowsky, “Poèmes-femmes,” “Les anges arrivent à Jérusalem,” “Au pays de mes os,” trad. Chantal Ringuet
- Melech Ravitch, “22 Juin 1941,” trad. Pierre Anctil
- Melech Ravitch, “Un cauchemar tropical à Singapour,” trad. Pierre Anctil et Chantal Ringuet
- Jacob Isaac Segal, “Korets,” “Le nigun,” “Mes poèmes,” “Un jour, je retournerai,” trad. Pierre Anctil
- Yitskhok Leybush Peretz, “La Ville morte” trad. Batia Baum
- Hersh Dovid Nomberg, “À qui la faute ?” trad. Fleur Kuhn-Kennedy
Single-Author Books: Polish
Ojzer Warszawski. Szmuglerzy Trans. Monika Adamczyk Garbowska & Ruta Magdalena. UMCS Wydawnictwo, 2018.
Translation of Oyzer Varshavski’s Shmuglars by Monika Adamczyk-Garbowska & Ruta Magdalena
Mordechaj Canin. Przez ruiny i zgliszcza: Podróż po stu zgładzonych gminach żydowskich w Polsce. Trans. Monika Adamczyk-Garbowska. Nisza, 2018.
Translation of Mordkhe Tsanin’s Iber shteyn un shtok: a rayze iber hundert khorev-gevorene kehiles in poyln. by Monika Adamczyk-Garbowska.
Periodicals, Anthologies, and Online Publications: Polish
Moja dzika koza: antologia poetek Żydowskich. Ed. Bella Szwarcman-Czarnota, Joanna Lisek & Karolina Szymaniak.
http://austeria.pl/produkt/moja-dzika-koza-antologia-poetek-zydowskich/
Nowe życie? Antologia literatury jidysz w powojennej Łodzi (1945-1949). Ed. Magdalena Ruta. Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego, 2018.
An Anthology of Yiddish literature in post-war Łódź (1945-1949).
Archiwum Ringelbluma: Konspiracyjne Archiwum Getta Warszawy — Żydowski Instytut Historyczny
In 2018 the Jewish Historical Institute continued its epic project of compiling and translating the Ringelblum Archives: the underground archive of the Warsaw Ghetto with the release of four new volumes:
Tom 29: Pisma z getta Emanuela Ringelbluma. Ed. Joanna Nalewajko-Kulikov. Trans. Daria Boniecka-Stępień, Agata Kondrat.
Volume 29. Emanuel Ringelblum: Notes from the Ghetto.
http://www.jhi.pl/publikacje/191
Tom 29a: Pisma Emauela Ringelbluma z bunkra.
Volume 29a. Emanuel Ringelblum: Notes from the Bunker.
http://www.jhi.pl/publikacje/190
Tom 30: Pisma Chaskiela Wilczyńskiego. Ed. Eleonora Bergman, Tadeusz Epsztein. Trans. Magdalena Siek, Tadeusz Epsztein.
Volume 30. Writings of Chaskel Wilczyński.
http://www.jhi.pl/publikacje/177
Tom 35: Żydzi w Warszawie, część druga: 1527-1795. Ed. Paweł Fijałkowski. Trans. Magdalena Siek, Anna Szyba, Magdalena Bendowska, Kazimierz Pacuski, Zofia Pacuska.
Volume 35. Jews in Warsaw, Part II: 1527-1795.
http://www.jhi.pl/publikacje/184
Odra, nr 4, 2018.
- Isaac Bashevis Singer, “Marzyciele,” tłum. Mariusz Lubyk
אנה מרגולין. מלכת המילים. מיידיש: אשר גל ואביבה טל. הוצאת קשב לשירה, 2018.
יצחק לייבוש פרץ. עיר המתים : סיפורים. מיידיש: דורי פרנס .מודן, 2018.
מנחם מענדל שניאורסאהן. אוצר ליקוטי שיחות : כלל ישראל.מיידיש: צבי הירש זלמנוב. ספריית מעיינותיך - תורת חב"ד, 2018.
Anna Margolin. The Queen of Words. Trans. Asher Gal & Aviva Tal. Keshev, 2018
Yitskhok Leybush Peretz. The Dead Town: Stories. Trans. Dori Parnes. Modan publishing, 2018.
Menachem Mendel Schneerson. Otzar Likkutei Sichot: Klal Yisrael. Trans. Tsvi Hersh Zelmanov. Torat Chabad, 2018.
בלהה רובינשטיין. צימוקים ושקדים. ידיעות ספרים, 2018.
Rozhinkes mit mandeln. Collected and edited by Bilha Rubinstein. Yedioth Books, 2018.
Single-Author Books: Russian
Эль Лисицкий. Козочка / Ингл-Цингл-ХватКозочка / Ингл-Цингл-Хват. Мосты культуры, 2018.
EL lissitzky’s children’s stories Tsigele and Yingl-tsingl-khvat translated by Valery Dymshits. This edition includes a bibliography and an article about Lissitzky.
Борис Сандлер. העלפֿאַנד עלי און קלעפּטשיק-בעבטשיק / Слонёнок Эли и Клепчик-Бебчик. Идиш Бранже, 2018.
Bilingual Edition of Boris Sandler’s children’s story Helfand eli un klebtshik bebtshik.
Залман Шнеур. Император и ребе пер. Велвл Черни́н. Книжники, 2018.
Zalman Shneour’s epic Keyser un rebe: historisher roman, translated by Velvl Chernin.
Шолом-Алейхем. Мальчик Мотл. Пер. Шамбадал Михаил. Время, 2018.
Шолом-Алейхем. Тевье-молочник. Пер. Шамбадал Михаил. Время, 2018.
New editons of two of Mikhail Shambadal’s classic Sholem Aleichem translations: Tevye der milkhiger and Motl Pesye dem khazns.
Single-Author Books: Lithuanian
Icchoko Rudaševskio. Vilniaus geto dienoraštis, 1941-1943. trans. Mindaugas Kvietkauskas. Lietuvos žydų bendruomenė, 2018.
A new translation of Yitzhak Rudashevski’s Vilnius Ghetto Diary in a bilingual edition (the first time the original Yiddish has appeared in book form).
Single-Author Books: German
Josef Burg. Mein Czernowitz. Trans. Armin Eidherr. Rimbaud Verlag, 2018.
Short stories set in Bukovina.
Moische Kulbak. Der Messias vom Stamme Efraim. Trans. Andrej Jendrusch. Verlag Klaus Wagenbach, 2018.
Moyshe Kulbak’s Meshiekh ben efrayim, translated by Andrej Jendrusch.
Single-Author Books: Italian
Mendele Moicher Sfurim. I Viaggi di Beniamino Terzo: Traduzione e postfazione di Daniela Leoni. EDB - Edizioni Dehoniane Bologna, 2018.
New edition of Mendele’s Masoes benyomin hashlishi. Translated and with a preface by Daniela Leoni.
Single-Author Spanish: Spanish
Nahón Milleritzky. Un médico judío en el viejo Buenos Aires. Trad. Cacho Lotersztain. Trenenmovimiento, 2018
A Collection of short stories by Argentine writer Nahón Milleritzky. Translation, notes and introduction by Cacho Lotersztain with a foreword by Raanan Rein.
Single-Author Czech: Czech
Shmuel Zagat. Gimpl Bejmiš, dohazovač. Trans. Petr Jan Vinš. Lauderovy školy, 2018.
Translation of fifty comic strips, with an introduction by Petr Jan Vinš.
David E. Fishman. Pašeráci knih: Boj o záchranu židovských pokladů před nacisty a komunisty. Trans. Martina Neradová (English), Petr Jan Vinš (Yiddish).
Translation from the English of Fishman’s book about the Paper Brigade in wartime Vilnius. Contains poems by Avrom Sutskever, Sholem Aleichem and songs by Shmerke Kaczerginski translated from the Yiddish by Petr Jan Vinš.
Single-Author Books: Belarusian
Мойшэ Кульбак. Панядзелак. Trans. Siarhej Šupa. Выдавецтва Вясна, 2018.
Translation of Moyshe Kulbak’s Montog.
Periodicals, Anthologies, and Online Publications: Belarusian
Габрэйскі акцэнт. ПрайдзіСвет №20.
http://prajdzisvet.org/archive/20.html.
A special Jewish issue of an online literary magazine with translations of Moyshe Kulbak’s poems, “ikh bin a bokser a hultay,” “In veg,” “Zun-fargang,” “Hunger,” “Vos mir shtarbn,” “Dos tsigele,” “Yidishe verter,” “A dude” by Andrej Chadanovič and Siarhej Šupa and Israel Joshua Singer’s travelogue Minsk by Siarhej Šupa.