מענדעלע

In regard to Mitelman's fascinating information [8.111] about Sabina Shpilrein -- Jung's analysand and subsequent colleague and lover in Switzerland -- I'd like to add that Willy Holtzman, an American playwright, wrote a very intriguing and moving play about her -- entitled SABINA. It premiered in New York two years ago in an excellent production. While I'm usually skeptical about docudramas, I found the play very poignant and informative.

The playbill also described Sabina Shpilrein's death: the German occupiers herded her and other Jews into the synagogue and set it on fire. meanwhiile her mentor and former lover Jung was hailed by the German government as the advocate of Aryan psychoanalysis.

Joachim Neugroschel

Reading an interesting essay "Romain Gary: A foreign body in French literature" (Nancy Huston, in an excellent volume "Exile and Creativity", Ed. Susan Rubin Suleiman, Duke University Press, 1998) I stumbled upon a phrase with two words I had not seen before:

...but in private Nina's spectacularly authentic, shtetlizing, Yiddishophone Judaism often shriveled down to one-fourth.

Aside from a non-trivial for a young Western author association of "authentic Judaism" with Yiddish and shtetl, this sentence contains two adjectives that perhaps came unchanged from the French text (the essay is a translation from the author's book "Tombeau de Romain Gary", Arles: Actes sud, 1995). While "Yiddishophone" is commonly used in French, the origin and definition of "shtetlizing" might be open for interpretations.

My question: does English need "Yiddishophone" in addition to the existing "Yiddish-speaking" compound?

Iosif Vaisman

Re a notice about Joseph Roth in Mendele Vol 08.107:

From 'Aber das Leben marschiert weiter und nimmt uns mit. Briefwechsel zwischen Joseph Roth und dem Verlag De Gemeenschap 1936-1939. Koeln 1991

Seite 71ff: Bilthoven,(Holland), den 12. Maerz 1937

Lieber Freund Roth, Es freut uns sehr,dass Sie wieder eine Uebersetzung verkauft haben und zwar in die jyddische Sprache. Der Roman wird in einem Blatt (Hajnt) erscheinen, es handelt sich also um einen Vorabdruck. Koennte man sich an dieselbe Firma wenden wegen einer Buchausgabe, oder soll fuer diese Angelegenheit ein anderes Haus gesucht werden. Und koennen Sie uns in diesem Falle vielleicht jyddische Verleger nennen? (De Gemeenschap, C.Vos)

Anmerkung 35 - Seite 249:

1. Aus Notizen im Nachlass des Veralges De Gemeenschap im NLMD (Nederlannds Letterkundig Museum en Documentatiecentrum, Den Haag) geht hervor, dass Roth in einem Schreiben vom 6.3.1937 an De Gemeenschap den Vertrag mit Hajnt erwaehnte. Dieses Schreiben ist nicht erhalten.

2. Gemeint ist die jiddische Tageszeitung Hajnt (Heute), die 1908 - 1938 in hebraeischer Schrift in Warschau erschien. Ob 'Die Geschichte' tatsaechlaich abgedruckt wurde, konnte nicht ermittelt werden.

Seite 75 Joseph Roth an Verlag De Gemeenschap Wien 19.Maerz 1937

Lieber Freund Vos! 1) Sie werden inzwischen schon meinen Brief bekommen haben und den Vorver trag mit der juedischen Zeitung 'Heint'. Was die jiddische Buchausgabe betrifft, so stehen die Dinge sehr verworren. Es gibt keine jiddischen Verleger, und wenn es sie gibt, so zahlen sie nichts und sind 'Saison-angelegenheiten. 2) An die jiddische Zeitungen in Amerika kann man sich vorlaeufig nicht wenden, wohl aber an meinen Freund J.S.Imber, (Anm. Wahrscheinlich handelt es sich um den jiddischen Dichter Samuel Jacob Imber (1889-1942) und Wegbereiter und Mentor einer ganzen Generation jiddischer Dichtrer in Galizien ....) die Ihnen auf Anfrage bestimmt die richtigen Adressen geben wird. 3) Ich ahbe Ihnen schon geschrieben, dass die jiddische Uebersetzung in Polen die jiddischen Uebersetzungen in Amerika ga nicht tangieren. Selbstverstaendlich werden Sie die fertige Uebersetzung fuer einen Vorabdruck oder Abdruck in Amerika zur Verfuegung haben. Ich bitte Sie aber sich diesbezueglich mit Herrn Imber, Adresse oben, zu verstaendigen. Er wird auch die Betaege wissen, die man zu verlangen hat. (...)

JR

Jan Jonk

in Mendele 8.111 khaver Hershkovic fregt vegn vort shtat, vos er gefint nisht in di yidishe verterbikher.

s'iz take an alt daytshish vort, vos me nutst itst bloyz in dialektn. in dorem-mayrev me shraybt staet un redt es aroys shtaet, heyoys in bayern un in estraykh me shraybt stat un zogt shtat. meynen meynt es gemakh, langzam, ruik.

tsi s'iz a daytshmerizm? mistome shoyn zeyer an alter.

mit grusn fun di taunus-berg

Peter Kluehs

Re Noyekh Miller's question on translations (08.107). This seems to me an extremely intersting subject. Something has been written on German translations of Yiddish literature at the beginning of this century, (I have written on translations of Yiddish literature into Italian,) and this certainly helps to understand how yiddish culture was perceived in other cultures, however to find out what has been translated into yiddish would help to establish the degree of interrelation of yiddish culture in the non-jewish world. A rather controverse theme. I can contribute to the list translations into yiddish made by Der Nister:

Hans Christian Andersen, Mayselekh, Kiev 1919 Arosyev Alexander, Ersht nisht lang, Universale Bibliotek, Kiev 1927 Aleksiei Tolstoi, Vasili Sutkov, Kiev 1927 Pilnyak Boris, Dertseylungen, Kiev 1928 Lev Tolstoy, Kadzshi Murat, Kiev 1928 Victor Hugo, Notr Dam, Kiev 1929 Emil Zola, Koylngreber, (Germinal) Kiev, Kultur-lige 1930 Ivan Kulik, Vos hot getrofn mit Vasili Rolenko?, Kharkov-Kiev 1930 Grigoryev, N. Anderthalb geshprekhn, Kharkov 1934 A. Razumovski, Der revkom in der vistenish, Kharkov 1934 Jack London, Di shtim fun blut, Kiev 1935 A. S. Turgheniev, Mimi, Odessa 1935 Victor Hugo, Di farshtoysene (Les miserables) Kiev Melukhe farlag 1938

Daniela Mantovan

A friend of mine, Dr. Freda LaVictoire, of Pittsburgh (died about 1979) wrote and published a book of Yiddish poetry which she translated into English. Her title in Yiddish is " Tsu zingn un zogn: a bukh vos lakht mit yashtsherkes." Her pen name is Simha Nitsahon. Her English title is: Who sing and spring: A somewhat sardonic soundoff." She included in her book, her own translations into Yiddish of selections from The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayam and The Walrus and the Carpenter, and others. She was very funny. A dentist by profession, she had come to the United States with her family at age 7 and settled in Jeanette, Pennsylvania.In addition to becoming fully Americanized, she preserved her love of Yiddish and wrote and spoke it beautifully.

Ida Selavan-Schwarcz

we always said "a shayner gelekhter", putting the emphasis on the ironic.

In a different sense, when one is burdened by so many tzores and yet wants to put on a good front, you can say "a knip in bahk un di farb zol shtayn"

Fradle Pomerantz Freidenreich Tel Aviv

In reply to Norman Simms query: yes, there are quite a few of us working on Yiddish culture in the 15th-17th centuries. I am an art historian, writing a book on images in Yiddish mss. and printed books of this time. I recently organized a conference session, which included two scholars of Yiddish literature: Jerold Frakes and Jean Baumgarten, who have both published extensively in the field. For more information, Norman Simms may contact me directly. I am happy to read of interest in pre-modern Yiddish!

Diane Wolfthal

Thank you Al Grand for reminding me of that heart breaking, heart warming memory of my mother singing (reciting) "Mine Yingele". I think I remember (in any event I was told many times when I was older) that I would cry "-top it", I could not pronounce the "S" sound. Even for so young a child the poem was so sad. Even now it creates in me a sorrowful reverie. Thanks again.

Ben Fogel