Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 1 no. 37 July 4, 1991 1) Mostly for Harry Katz (Sigrid Peterson) 2) Various (Mikhl Herzog) 3) RE: Geography (Yankel Kessler) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 3 Jul 1991 11:15 MST From: Sigrid Peterson Subject: Query in Mendele 1.28 I have been unable to respond directly to Harry Katz, who introduced himself in Mendele 1.28 and requested information about _goldene pahves_, a book by Zusman Segalovich. I had sent him the following negative information on June 19th, which the postmaster has been unable to deliver. I am therefore broadcasting it via the newsletter in order to reach Harry Katz. Subj: Re: Segalovich, as Segalowicz and Segalowitch Our library has five books (probably all from NYBC) by Zusman Segalovich, none of which are _goldene pahves_, the book you are seeking. There are three books of poems, and two that were written in Argentina at the end of his career. One is _letster lodzsher roman_, (1951) and one is _tlomatske draytsn fun farbrentn nekhtn_ (1946). Library listings are variously transliterated, so that there are two different names for Segalovich in the Marriott Library (University of Utah), neither spelled in the way you requested: Segalowicz and Segalowitch are the entries, otherwise with the same first name Zusman, and the same dates for his life. dir/new Good luck in your search. I hope this has helped. Sigrid Peterson Sigpeter@cc.utah.edu 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 3 Jul 91 14:07 EDT From: ZOGUR@CUVMB.BITNET Subject: Various Moyshe KAPOYER (= topsy-turvy) NOT kapoyre and DEFI- NITELY NOT kapores. darfn af kapores is 'to have no use for'; toygn af kapores 'to be useless'; slogn kapores is what you do with a chicken for Yom Kippur. toes: Litvish (probably S. Belorussia) toves, like novnt 'near', ever 'ear',etc in the Ukraine: tuves, nuvnt (also nivnt in Volin), zover 'sour', etc. Not taves in Lite (or anywhere, I'd wager) but yes zaver in S. Belorussia. Noyekh, Podolia and Bessarabia do have interesting features in common, despite the river; I'm glad to learn that the kats/koter distiction is criterial. As for Lomze, it too is a n interesting "Yiddish" town including the local rendition of the name itselfwhich sounds more like "Womzi". Back to work! 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 03 Jul 91 16:01 PDT From: KESSLER Subject: RE: Vol 1.36 Intro; usage; various It would be hard for me to think of anything but ketzele, such animals not bein g liked in the house- hold. I like cats myself, but wont have them: they kill birds and they walk on the table where the food is. Dogs are fine with me, though. But, Izhvonits is on the east bank of the Dniester, it seems to me, and that is where the atlas showed it when last I looked. Up in that nasty corner, so well described by Gregor von Rezzori in his masterful work, MEMOIRS OF AN ANTI-SEMI TE. Either that or my father didnt know east from west bank, or I kept an archaic memory of it looking west as he described his dives from shore to me years and years ago. He would never say anything but Bessarabia, though they were all Russian speakers. While he recited Lermontov aloud, much to my mother's dislike of it, since she was born in Paris, in the Marais, and had completely suppressed the memory of her first 9 years, as fraught with loathing and fright. History. I miss him now, untimely off two years ago at 89, when he was good for 100, a story I shant go into in this place. JK ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol 1.37