Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 5.108 September 10, 1995 1) Jerusalem 3000 (Saul Berman) 2) A gezunt un zis yor (Moishe Kijak) 3) Yiddish Theatre (Dena Heilik) 4) Henry James and the Forverts (Noyekh Miller) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 7 Sep 1995 20:53:37 +0200 (IST) From: berman@mars.senecac.on.ca Subject: Jerusalem 3000 This year Bialik Hebrew Day School, the only Jewish day school with a regular Yiddish curriculum in Toronto, will be celebrating the anniversary of King David's Jerusalem. Does anybody know of any songs, poems commemorative material of any kind in _Yiddish_ suitable for students grades 5-8. As one of four languages taught at the school (oyfn shpits meser) we must constantly maintain our presence in all events. Saul Berman 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 8 Sep 1995 04:40:58 -0300 From: administ@kijak.recom.edu.ar Subject: A gezunt un zis yor Libe fraint, ikh vil aikh vintchn alemen tzum nayem yor, gezunt un hatzlokhe. Zol undzer kleyne ober sheferishe idishe velt, vos greser un sheferisher vern. Un itzt vil ikh aykh dertzeyln epes, nisht davke vegn Rosh hashone, nor vegn Tsoym Gedalie, dos heyst, oyf tzu morgns nokh Rosh hashone. Vi ir veyst, iz Tsoym Gedalie ayngefirt gevorn, tzum ondenk fun Gedalie, der farvalter vos Nebukhadnetzer, meylekh bovl, hot ongeshtelt, un vos iz dermordet gevorn durkh zayne kegner. Dos hot derfirt tsum fulshtendikn khurbn. Ot iz di maynse: men treft an id esndik in ot dem tones-tog. Fregt men im tsi er veyst nisht vos far a tog es iz. -Ikh veys- entfert er. -Mistome bistu opgeshvakht- fregt men bay im vayter. -Kh'bin gezunt vi a ferd- iz zayn entfer. To farvos estu? Der id fartrakht zikh un zogt: -ikh hob dray sibes tzulib velkhe ikh hit nisht op dem tones- -ershtns: dos iz shoyn geshen mit azoy fil tzayt tzurik, az ven men volt im nisht geven dermordert, volt er say vi say geven geshtorbn-. -Tsveytns: ven mikh volt men geven geharget, volt Gedalie gefast far mir?-. -Un dritns: Yom Kipur fres ikh zikh on vi a khazer, vilt ir ikh zol haint fastn?-. Nu idn: hot mir ale a gezunt un zis yor, far aikh, far kol Isroel un far Medinas Isroel, un far der gantzer velt. Ayer fraint fun Argentine. Moishe Kijak 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 8 Sep 1995 23:56:47 -0600 (MDT) From: dheilik@gpu.srv.ualberta.ca Subject: Looking for information on Yiddish Theatre I'm writing an honours thesis this year in drama and I would like to write on the Vilna Troupe. Unfortunately, finding sources and information has been extremely difficult. If anyone out there has access to or knows where I can get information on the Vilna Troupe or Yiddish theatre in general in New York from around 1920-1940, please contact me. Thank you very much. Dena Heilik 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 10 Sep 1995 From: nmiller@shakti.trincoll.edu Subject: Henry James and the Forverts In the last two posts to Mendele I described briefly the discovery of a genize (archive) in the old Forverts building that contained among other things letters from Forverts readers to Henry James after the serial publication of _Di Fligl fun Solovey_ (subsequently translated as _The Wings of the Dove_). This was followed by an explanation of how James came to write his novel in Yiddish. Herewith the final installment, the letters themselves. With a single exception all of the letters were written within a few weeks of one another in 1905. The last was written in 1907. Some readers have asked that they be rendered in English. ***** April 1, 1905 James: I never would have expected that a shmate run by that philistine Cahan would print such a brilliant picture of bourgeois decadence. A second Balzac, Marx would have said. Yasher koyekh! Yours for the permanent revolution. Only two suggestions: shorter sentences and speed up the narrative. Lev Bronstein ***** April 3, 1905 Dear Comrade James: We've been talking about your story in the shop where I work. The cutters say it's reactionary, the pressers read the Daily News, and we operators wish you would write about people like us. Why does your story take place in London of all places? Another thing: why is the action so slow? And could you make your sentences shorter? Bertha Neytorin ***** April 3, 1905 Dear James, Your story looks ok except that you don't know anything about women if you think they're all like those upper-class sticks you write about. If you want to learn something I've got the next two weeks free. You'll find me at the Brevoort. And for god's sake speed up the action and cut those sentences. Emma Goldman ***** April 9, 1905 Dear Henry James: A good start but I have a few suggestions to make. First of all the story has to move to New York. That way the strike will be a real strike. Then, when what's-his-name loses his arm after being brutally assaulted by the New York cossack police, what's-her-name will realize that the fortune her Yeke zeyde left her was built on the backs of the workers, so she joins the strikers against the bosses. I guarantee they'll love it. One other thing: maybe you could speed up the action and cut the sentences a little? Upton Sinclair ***** April 11, 1905 My dear Henry: Santayana and I read your serial in the Forverts the other day. George thought it was very well done and suggested that the hero have a religious conversion experience. I concur. We both think you might want to speed things up a bit and simplify your sentence structure. The family all send greetings. William ***** April 22, 1905 Tayerer Henri James: Pavolyinke! (slow down a bit!) Vos aza aylenish? (what's the big hurry?) Tut vi ikh tu (do as I do): eyder me zetst zikh tsu der arbet, trinkt men oys a gleyzele varems un me farbayst mit a leykekhel, tsi a pletsele. (before starting work have a hot chocolate maybe with some patisserie.) Azoy ken men take oysshlepn a krenk (that way you can keep things going indefinitely.) Mikhl Proust ***** April 4, 1907 Henry James: Let me introduce myself. Two years ago you began your serial in the Forverts. Everybody in my cafeteria stopped reading it almost right away. I alone kept on. I am your last reader, your _only_ reader. Why did I continue? Because I also plan to be a writer and I wanted to see how you would end the book. Now that it's finished, here is what I have to say: Gazlen eyner! Retseyekh! Vos in der kort! Two long years I have to wait and when it's over I still don't know what happened!!! Did he inherit or not?! Do they get married or not?! This is writing?! I should have taken my brother's advice. He took one look at your name two years ago and he said then: Vos mir 'Henry James'? 'Henry' iz dokh Khayim, un 'James' iz dokh Yankev. Heysn heyst er Khayim Yankel. He was right. Isaac Bashevis ***** James never again published in the Forverts. Noyekh Miller ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 5.108