Woman with Shells – La Mer (The Sea) and La Mere (The Mother). Ruth Davidson Abrams. Oil on canvas. 1956. Yeshiva University Museum.
I Am Woman
by Malka Heifetz Tussman
translated from the Yiddish by Marcia Falk
I am the exalted Rachel
whose love lit the way for Rabbi Akiba.
I am the small, bashful village girl
who grew up among the…
1919
by Jacob Glatstein (Yankev Glatshteyn)
translated by Kathryn Hellerstein and Benjamin Harshav
Lately, there’s no trace left
Of Yankl, son of Yitskhok,
But for a tiny round dot
That rolls crazily through the streets
With hooked-on, clumsy limbs.
The lord-above surrounded
The whole world with heaven-blue
And there is no escape.
Everywhere “Extras!” fall from above
And squash my watery head.
Hans Wolfgang Schwerin. Click on images above for enlarged views. Pictures of the poet; a copy of his published volume of poetry (Irdische Heimat); a poem from this volume; the poet’s dedication of the book to the Leo Baeck Institute; a binder that contains his personal notes/drafts; a typewritten poem from that binder; the cover of the Mass und Werte issue in which his work appeared; a copy…
Today is “Shakespeare Day,” or the day that is known as the birth date and death date of William Shakespeare. Did you know that Shakespeare’s works have been translated into Yiddish for the education and enjoyment of Yiddish-speakers? In honor of Shakespeare and National Poetry Month, you can enjoy the famous Sonnet 18 in Yiddish (above) – available online by clicking here….