Texts & Translations
New translations into English of Yiddish language materials including poetry, stories, essays, and archival materials of all kinds. Original Yiddish texts are presented in a standardized orthography and are fully searchable.
Texts & Translation
װאָס י.י.זינגער האָט געזען אין די נעגער קאַבאַרעיס אין האַרלעם
What I. J. Singer Saw in the Black Cabarets in Harlem
A translation of I. J. Singer’s reportage on Harlem cabarets.
May 22, 2024
Texts & Translation
"בלי קדיש“ או "דער לעבעדיקער יתום"
"Kaddish Denied" or "The Living Orphan"
Avrohom Eliyohu Plotkin served as the rabbi of Ostashkov, a provincial town midway between Moscow and Leningrad, after the Russian Revolution, at a time when the Jewish Sections (Evsektsiia) of the Communist Party—supported by other agents of the Soviet state—were forcibly closing all the institutions that made Jewish religious life possible. In 1927, Rayatz was arrested in Leningrad and sentenced to death. An international pressure campaign secured a commutation and safe passage to Latvia. “Kaddish Denied” is a semi-autobiographical tale that unfolds in the aftermath of Rayatz’s arrest and departure.
Apr 11, 2024
Texts & Translation
דער טאַטע איז געקומען שלאָפֿן
Papa Came Home to Sleep
A short story by Mimi Pinzón about a young girl growing up in an Argentine conventillo.
Mar 01, 2024
Texts & Translation
New Yiddish Poetry from the Israel-Gaza War
A collection of recent Yiddish poetry published and performed in the wake of the war.
Feb 15, 2024
Texts & Translation
הירשקע גליק
Hirshke Glik
An excerpt from Kaczerginski’s memoir on the origins of the Partisan Hymn.
Jan 26, 2024
Texts & Translation
אַן אָפֿענער בריװ צו יענטע סערדאַצקי
An Open Letter to Yente Serdatsky
A translation of Der lebediker’s satirical letter to Yente Serdatsky.
Dec 07, 2023
Texts & Translation
װײַבעריקום טאַלאַנטיקום אײַנלײַטיגונגס
Womanistic Talentistic Introductionarium
A translation of Froym-Leyb Volfson’s satirical poem about women writers.
Dec 07, 2023
Texts & Translation
„מײַן טאַטע פֿאַרברענט מײַנע לידער“ און „דער שרײַבער־באַל...“
"My Father Burns My Poems" and "The Writer's Ball"
Translations of excerpts from Malka Lee’s memoir, Durkh kindershe oygn.
Dec 07, 2023
Texts & Translation
צו מײַן ברודער אַבֿרהם רײזען
To My Brother Avrom Reisen
A translation of Sarah Reisen’s poem to her brother, Avrom.
Dec 07, 2023
Texts & Translation
אַ פּאָר שעה אין פֿרױען־װעלט
A Few Hours in Women’s World
A translation of Chana Blankshteyn’s repotage on Sore Reyzn’s speech in the Women’s Union in March 1927.
Dec 07, 2023