Feb 11, 2020
INTRODUCTION
This is not an exhaustive list, and we need your help to make it better! If you translated, or know of a translation, published in 2019 that does not appear on this list, please write to translate@ingeveb.org and we will add it. We are aware that English is overrepresented on this list owing to 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: Polish
Single-Author Books: English
Jacob Dinezon. The Dark Young Man. Trans. Tina Lunson. Jewish Storyteller Press, 2019.
The latest addition to Jewish Storyteller Press's growing catalogue of translations from the "Mother" of Yiddish literature. An abridged version of Dinezon's popular novel from 1877.
Mendel Mann. Seeds in the Desert. Trans. Heather Valencia. White Goat Press, 2019.
Twenty-five stories following Mann's life in reverse, from Israel in the 1950s to his experiences in the post-War Soviet Union and his childhood in Poland.
Kadya Molodovsky. A Jewish Refugee in New York. Trans. Anita Norich. Indiana University Press, 2019.
Translation of Molodovsky's overlooked novel, Fun lublin biz nyu-york: togbukh fun rivke zilberg, narrated in the form of a diary. See our review here.
Hersh Dovid Nomberg. Warsaw Stories. Trans. Daniel Kennedy. White Goat Press, 2019.
Eleven stories following the lives of young Jewish intellectuals and outcasts in the big city.
Chava Rosenfarb. Confessions of a Yiddish Writer and Other Essays. Trans. Goldie Morgentaler. McGill-Queen's University Press, 2019.
A collection of thirteen essays ranging from literary criticism to autobiographical accounts. See an interview with the translator here.
Zalman Shneour. A Death: Notes of a Suicide. Trans. Daniel Kennedy. Wakefield Press, 2019.
Shneour's first novel, a Yiddish take on Notes from Underground.
Nokhem Shtif. The Pogroms in Ukraine, 1918-19. Trans. Maurice Wolfthal. Open Book Publishers, 2019.
Nokhem Shtif's accounts of atrocities committed during the Russian Civil War. An extract was previously published by us here.
Avrom Sutzkever. The Full Pomegranate. Trans. Richard J. Fein. SUNY Press, 2019.
Translations of selected poems by the Yiddish writer, covering the entire breadth of his career. See our review here.
Periodicals, Anthologies, and Online Publications: English
The Big Book of Classic Fantasy. Vintage, 2019.
- Der Nister, “At the Border,” trans. Joseph Tomaras
Along with original poems, this volume contains the following translations:
- H. Leivick, “My Father Used to Call it Chatzos,” trans. Zackary Sholem Berger
- Avrom, Sutzkever, “At Thirty,” trans. Zackary Sholem Berger
- Avrom, Sutzkever, “From Diary Poems,” trans. Zackary Sholem Berger
- Dovid Hofthteyn, “From Russia,” trans. Zackary Sholem Berger
- Dvoyre Fogel, “Herring Barrels,” trans. Zackary Sholem Berger
- Beyle Schaechter-Gottesman, “I Prefer,” trans. Zackary Sholem Berger
- Avrom Reisen, “Some Guys” trans. Zackary Sholem Berger
- Moyshe Nadir, “My Pedegree,” trans. Zackary Sholem Berger
Pakn Treger 2019 Translation Issue: Avrom Ovinu Receives a Letter and Other Yiddish Correspondence, edited by Madeleine Cohen, 2019.
This year’s Pakn Treger Translation Issue centers around letters, postcards and correspondence.
- Sholem Aleichem, “An Exchange of Letters between America and the Old Country,” trans. Curt Leviant
- Blume Lempel & Chava Rosenfarb, “I Feel a Connection to You,” trans. Ellen Cassedy & Yermiyahu Ahron Taub
- Mordecai Kosover, “A Letter to My Mother,” trans. Ruth Solomon
- Yente Serdatsky, “Letters to the Editor,” trans. Cady Vishniac
- G. Selikovitch, “The Small Opinions of Great Men,” trans. Corbin Allardice, Matthew Johnson, Jessica Kirzane, & Jonah Lubin
- Miriam Karpilove, “Excerpt from A Provincial Newspaper,” trans. Jessica Kirzane
- Itzik Manger, “Abraham Our Father Receives a Letter” & “Avishag Writes a Letter Home,” trans. Murray Citron
- Peretz Markish, “Dear Opatoshu!” trans. Miriam Schulz
- Efraim Wozak, “Letters from the Spanish Civil War: Selected Letters from Memories of a Botwinist,” trans. Deborah Green
- Rivka Basman Ben-Haim & Miriam Ulinover, “Letters,” “To Miriam Ulinover,” & “Letters,” trans. Kathryn Hellerstein
- Jonah Rosenfeld, “Call It Destiny,” trans. Rachel Mines
- Moyshe Leyb Lilienblum & Avrom Kunin, “An Open Letter,” & “An Answer to Mr. Lilienblum,” trans. Ruth Murphy
- Sarah Reisen, “My Dear Belovd Brother,” trans. Ri. J. Turner
- Avrom Sutzkever, “My Mailman,” trans. Maia Evrona
- Chaim Grade, “My Dear Abe,” trans. Rose Waldman
Poetry of the Holocaust. Arc Publications, 2019
Edited by Jean Boase-Beier and Marian de Vooght. A wide-ranging multilingual anthology of poems, presented alongside the originals, containing a handful of translations from Yiddish. Unlike the other languages represented (Hebrew, Russian, Greek etc) Yiddish is provided only in a variety of divergent transliteration systems.
- Rajzel Zychlinski “Prayer” and “It could be…,” trans Jean Bose-Beier
- Abraham Sutzkever “To the Child,” trans Jean Boase-Beier
- Rivka Basman Ben-Hayim “Sometimes a hunger grips me…” and “Sixty Years Later,” trans Zelda Kahan Newman
- David Fram “An Answer to the World,” trans Jean Boase-Beier & Marian de Vooght
- Lajser Ajchenrand “… and God grant…,” trans Jean Boase-Beier
The Ringelblum Archive: Underground Archive of the Warsaw Ghetto, Vol.2. Żydowski Instytut Historyczny, 2019.
Accounts from the Borderlands, 1939–1941. Based on volume three of the Polish language series. With translations from Yiddish by: Jennifer Bell, Vincent Homolka, Daniel Kennedy, Fleur Kuhn, Dianna Levitin, Barry Smerin, Wojciech Tworek, Elena Watson, Rebecca Wolpe.
In geveb: A Journal of Yiddish Studies
An online journal of some renown.
- Hillel Zeitlin, “A Bit of Clarity and Simplicity in Regard to the Language Question,” trans. Joshua Meyers and Ariel Evan Mayse
- Meir Bałaban, “The Rebbe R. Berish Bal-tshuve of Krakow,” trans. Avinoam J. Stillman
- R. Aaron of Karlin, “In His Holy Idiom,” trans. Joshua Schwartz
- Mordkhe Wolfshaut-Dinkes, “Checkmate,” trans. Jonah S. Boyarin
- Der Tunkeler, “Yiddishists,” trans. Ri J. Turner
- Chaim Grade, “Jewish Towns of Poland,” trans. Julian Levinson
- Kalman Zingman, “In the Future City of Edenia,” (part 2) (part 3) trans. Jordan Finkin
- David Edelstadt, “A Crumb of Bread,” trans. Zachary Groz
- A. Mokdoni, “Abroad: My Encounters,” trans. Hayyim Rothman
- Rachel Wischnitzer, “Max Liebermann,” trans. Sophie Duvernoy
- Joseph Opatoshu, “A Secret,” trans. Daniel Kennedy
- Joseph Opatoshu, “A Problem,” trans. Zeke Levine and Raphael Halff
- El Lissitzky, “On the Mogilev Shul: Recollections,” trans. Madeleine Cohen
- Yakov Leshchinsky, “A Day in the Old Market,” trans. Robert Brym
- Moyshe-Leyb Halpern, “My Tale of Woe,” trans. Michael Shapiro
- Shloyme Gilbert, “From the Land of Consumption,” trans. Abigail Weaver and David Weaver
Yiddish Book Center Website
The Yiddish Book Center’s website continues its tradition of regularly publishing texts in translation.
- Ephraim Auerbach, “A Stretch of Time” and “News,” trans. Ollie Elkus
- Chaim Grade, “The Abandoned Sanctuary,” trans. Ezra Glinter
- Alexander Spiegelblatt, “Repairing Love,” trans. Sean Sidky
- Avrom Reyzen, “Reyzele,” trans. Curt Leviant
- Jacob Glatstein, “Be Hallowed” and “Mode,” trans. Andrew Sunshine
- Itzik Manger, “The Ballad of Old Harlequin,” trans. Lawrence Rosenwald
- Maria Lerner, “The Chained Wife, an Excerpt,” trans Chloë (Zisl) Piazza
- Leyzer Wolf, “The Brown Dragon Has Flown” and “Once Upon a Time There Was a King,” trans. Sarah Ponichtera
- Moyshe Nadir, “Fences” and “A Chimney Sweep,” trans. Ollie Elkus
- Abraham Goldberg, “Beards,” trans. Daniel Kennedy
The Arkansas International
- Abraham Sutzkever, “Today I Saw Mikhoels,” trans. Maia Evrona
Asymptote—Yiddish Poetry Feature
This year Asymptote magazine ran a special feature on Yiddish poetry, including:
- Yankev Glatshteyn, “Two Poems,” trans. Richard J. Fein
- Itzik Manger, “Five Poems,” trans. Murray Citron
- Itzik Manger “Ballads” and “Ruth”, trans. Lawrence Rosenwald
- H. Leivick, “Two Poems,” trans. A. Z. Foreman
- Moyshe-Leyb Halpern, “Four Poems,” trans Richard J. Fein
- Rajzel Zychlinsky, “From to Clear Shores,” trans. Susan Cohen
- Isaac Berliner, “City of Palaces,” trans. Ilan Stavans
- Dvoyre Vogel, “Figures of the Day,” trans. Jordan Lee Schnee
- Yermiyahu Ahron Taub, “Two Poems”
- Zackary Sholem Berger, “Three Poems”
Asymptote
- Zigmunt Leyb, “Shchepliak,” trans. Jordan Finkin
The Bais Yaakov Project
- Sarah Schenirer, “Tishrei Thoughts,” trans. Sandra Chiritescu
Brooklyn Rail — In Translation
- Rachmil Bryks, “The Ne’er-Do-Well and the Heretic,” trans. Yermiyahu Ahron Taub
Columbia Journal
- Miriam Karpilove, “Freydl,” trans. Jessica Kirzane
Digital Yiddish Theatre Project
- Miriam Karpilove, “Theatre: A Sketch,” trans. Jessica Kirzane
Empty Mirror
- Rachmil Bryks, “Excerpt from Fugitives,” trans. Yermiyahu Ahron Taub
Guernica
- Abraham Sutzkever, “I Am Your Abyss,” trans. Maia Evrona
Jewish Currents
- Aaron Zeitlin, “Six Lines,” trans. Miranda Cooper
- Miriam Karpilove “New York’s First-Time Women Voters,” trans. Jessica Kirzane
- Hersh Dovid Nomberg “Am I a Jew or a Pole?” trans. Daniel Kennedy
- A. Lutzky, “A Waltz,” trans. Helen Engelhardt
Jewish Fiction.net
- Jacob Dinezon, “Go Eat Kreplach,” trans. Jane Peppler
Jewish Review of Books
- Isaac Bashevis Singer, “A Letter to Mama,” trans. Aliza Shevrin
Jewish Women’s Archive
- Celia Dropkin, “Two Poems,” trans. Maia Evrona
The Los Angeles Review
- Yente Serdatsky, “Without a Place,” trans. Cady Vishniac
- Isaac Bashevis Singer, “Who Needs Literature?” trans. David Stromberg
Metamorphoses (Fall 2019)
- Salomea Perl, [Seven Stories], transl. Ruth Murphy
Pakn Treger
- Chil Aronson, “The Yiddish Bohemians of Montparnasse,” trans. Ri. J. Turner
- Mendel Mann, “The Last Scribe,” trans. Heather Valencia
- Klara Klebanova, “Petticoats and Bombs,” trans. Caraid O’Brien
- Chava Rosenfarb, “Bergen-Belsen Diary: 1945,” trans. Goldie Morgentaler
- Rokhl Faygenberg, “A Good Friend in Troubled Times,” trans. Elissa Bemporad
- Dora Schulner, “The First Writer I Read and Loved,” trans. Jessica Kirzane
- Bertha Kalich, “My Husband, My Lover, and Me,” trans. Amanda Seigel
- Khine Braginskaia, “How I Sang for Goldfadn, Learned Yiddish, and Became an Actress,” trans. Ri J. Turner
- Hersh Dovid Nomberg, “Fliglman (Excerpt)” trans. Daniel Kennedy
Sprachbund - Issue 3
- Fradel Shtok, “White Furs,” trans. Ri J. Turner
- Anna Margolin, “From a Diary,” trans. Daniel Kennedy
- Ayzik-Meyer Dik, “The Litvak of Volhynia,” trans. Maurice Wolfthal
Tablet Magazine
- Mendel Mann, “The Encounter,” trans. Heather Valencia
- Chava Rosenfarb, “A Reader in the Ghetto,” trans. Goldie Morgentaler
Waxwing
- Avrom Sutzkever, “My Neighbor From the Ghetto,” trans. Maia Evrona
Your Impossible Voice
- Fradl Shtok, “A Cut,” trans. Jordan Finkin and Allison Schachter
Single-Author Books: French
H. Leivick. Dans les bagnes du tsar. Trad. Rachel Ertel. Éditions de l’antilope, 2019.
Translation of Leivick’s novel Oyf tsarisher katorge.
Mendele Moykher Sforim. L’Anneau magique. Trad. Batia Baum. Bibliothéque Medem, 2019
Translation of Mendele’s novel Dos vintshfingerl.
Single-Author Books: Polish
Icchok Lejbusz Perec. Martwe miasto i inne opowiadania. Trans. Bella Szwarcman Czarnota. Austeria, 2019.
The Dead Town and Other Stories. Ten stories from I. L. Peretz with an introduction and afterword from the translator.
Szolem Alejchem. Scyzoryk. Trans. Bella Szwarcman Czarnota. Austeria, 2019.
Bilingual edition of Sholem Aleichem’s “Dos meserl.”
Periodicals, Anthologies, and Online Publications: Polish
Midrasz. Nrs. 207–210, 2019.
Longterm venue for Yiddish in translation, Midrasz, released its final issue this year. Issues 207–210 included works by Rachel Auerbach, Sara Ajzen, David Fram, Leyb Rokhman, Isaac Bashevis Singer, Mani Leyb, Yenta Mash, Itzik Manger, Moyshe Nadir, Der Nister, Lamed Shapiro,Chaim Grade, and Israel Joshua Singer translated by Karolina Szymaniak, Bella Szwarcman-Czarnota, Mariusz Lubyk and Anna Ciałowicz
ציליה דראפקין. ונשיקתי תהיה רוצחת. מיידיש: בנימין הרשב, מנחם פרי. הקיבוץ המאוחד, 2019.
Celia Dropkin. And My Kiss Will Be Murderous. Trans. Benjamin Harshav and Menachem Perry. Hakibbutz Hameuchad, 2019
Single-Author Books: Russian
Шолом-Алейхем, Мальчик Мотл. Пер. М. Шамбадала. Детская литература, 2019.
Шолом-Алейхем, Мальчик Мотл в Америке. Пер. М. Шамбадала. Детская литература, 2019.
Шолом-Алейхем, Мальчик Мотл в Европе. Пер. М. Шамбадала. Детская литература, 2019.
Шолом-Алейхем, Тевье-молочник. Пер. М. Шамбадала. Детская литература, 2019.
New editions of classic Soviet translations of Sholem Aleichem’s Motl and Tevye the Dairyman by Mikhail Shambadal.
Single-Author Books: German
Joseph Opatoshu. Ein Tag in Regensburg. Trans. Sabine Koller. Verlag Friedrich Pusted, 2019.
A Translation of Opatoshu’s novel a tog in Regensburg.
Isaac Bashevis Singer. Jarmy und Keila. Trans. Christa Krüger. Suhrkamp, 2019.
Following an Italian edition in 2017 and a French one in 2018, Singer’s long unpublished novel Yarme un Keyle is now available in German too. All three translations are based on Joseph Singer’s English version which remains unavailable in English.
Scholem Alejchem. Eisenbahngeshichten. Trans. Gernot Jonas. Düsseldorf University Press, 2019.
The third in Düsseldorf University Press’s “Jiddistik: Edition & Forschung” series sees seasoned Sholem Aleichem translator Gernot Jonas tackle the Ayzenban-geshikhtes.
Single-Author Books: Italian
Chaim Grade. La moglie del rabbino. Trad. Anna Linda Callow. Giuntina, 2019.
A translation of Grade’s “Di rebetsin” from di kloyz un di gas: dertseylungen.
Isaac Bashevis Singer. Il ciarlatano. Trad. Elisabetta Zevi. Adelphi, 2019.
Another scoop for Adelphi Edizioni with their second world premiere of a forgotten I. B. Singer novel! Based on an uncredited English translation, The Charlatan was apparently edited by Singer shortly before languishing in his archives. A french version has come out this year.
Single-Author Books: Belarusian
Мойшэ Кульбак. Мэсія з роду Эфраіма. Trans. Siarhej Šupa. Выдавецтва Вясна, 2019.
Translation of Moyshe Kulbak’s Meshiekh Ben Efrayim.
