Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 1 no. 210 April 8, 1992 1) Molly Picon (Martin Davis) 2) The Yivo system (Ellen Prince) 3) Yiddish news from Moscow (Jack Falk) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 7 Apr 92 11:53:26 -0400 From: davism@turing.cs.nyu.edu Subject: Molly Picon The death at 94 of this grand dame of Yiddish stage and screen was reported in today's NY Times. "A bisl zin, a bisl regn ... abi gezind tsu zayn." Martin Davis [It would be fitting on this sad occcasion for those who remember Molly Picon or who know something of the history of the Yiddish stage and/or screen to share their thoughts with the rest of us. nm] 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 07 Apr 92 09:00:28 -0400 From: "Ellen F. Prince" Subject: RE: Mendele Vol 1.209 >From: zbarlev@sciences.sdsu.edu >Subject: RE:Mendele Vol 1.206 > >This system can be used by people who don't read/write >Yiddish, and avoids the Germanization of its spelling. >It's mostly YIVO-style, too. (The five vowels of MAMA JET >SKI NO GURU are mostly as found in just about any languages >in the world except English.) question: since the system you suggest is 'mostly' yivo (in fact, it's entirely yivo, at least one of the options you suggest when you suggest more than one), why not simply adopt the yivo system? a little conventionality never hurts when it comes to writing systems... Ellen Prince 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 7 Apr 92 19:37:06 PDT From: jfalk@cs.MENTORG.COM Subject: Yiddish news from Moscow My friend Moisey (Moyshe) Wolf arrived last month as a refugee from Russia. I visited with him and his wife in Moscow last fall. Moyshe is a longstanding activist in Jewish cultural affairs in Russia. He is working to establish links between Yiddish cultural activists here in North America and his colleagues in Moscow. At the end of this message, I've attached a letter of introduction from Aaron Vergelis and the editorial board of "Sovyetish Heymland", the Moscow-based Yiddish monthly. (The translation is mine.) About Moyshe Wolf: he was raised in prewar Warsaw, where he had both a traditional and a modern Jewish education. He is fully fluent in Yiddish, Russian, and modern Hebrew, and has given several talks here in English. He is interested in visiting your community to speak about Yiddish cultural life in Russia, from Stalin's time until the present, and to help build support for Yiddish literary efforts in Moscow. You can contact Moyshe at the following address: Moisey S. Wolf 6111 SW Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway #6 Portland, OR 97221 (503) 292-3486 Jack Falk ------------------------------------------------------------------ ATTACHED LETTER ------------------------------------------------------------------ From the Editorial Board of "Sovyetish Heymland" (Aaron Vergelis, editor in chief) To Yiddish readers, writers, and friends of Yiddish in America: The editorial board of the Yiddish monthly "Sovyetish Heymland" announces that, beginning in 1992, in its place we are founding a new Yiddish journal called "Di Yidishe Gas". We must also tell you that conditions for Yiddish literature in Russia are very difficult and that there is a danger that it will disappear altogether. We ask your help in assuring the continuation of Yiddish literary life in our country. We need paper; a computer with a printer; and any related technical equipment. We also need new energy and new ideas. We're not after charity or a handout. We need interested people to work with us in establishing a Jewish publishing house where we can jointly publish literature on Jewish themes, whether in Yiddish, Hebrew, Russian, English, or other languages. We're ready to get started: we have a building, and we have a talented core of energetic individuals. Our American representative, Moisey Wolf, is ready to meet with you. Professor Wolf has full authority to engage in any discussions with you on our behalf toward the establishment of this publishing venture. Moisey Wolf is one of the best known Yiddish literary critics and scholars in Russia. His writings about the Yiddish literary tradition, about the first Yiddish book "Seyfer Anshel", and about contemporary Hebrew literature in Israel have often appeared in our pages. He is the editor of the anthology "Ineynem" (1988), author of the column "Shmuesn vegn di etishe problemen in tanakh", and contributor of several articles that appear in the final 1991 issue of "Sovyetish Heymland". Please help Moisey Wolf to fulfill his mission: to secure the future of Yiddish cultural life in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and other republics. We hope that you will respond to our plea and help us carry out this sacred work. With great respect, The Editorial Board Aaron Vergelis, Editor in Chief ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol 1.210 Submissions: mendele@vax1.trincoll.edu Business: nmiller@vax1.trincoll.edu Please sign your articles.