tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post4492186109563559456..comments2024-03-27T16:48:21.039-05:00Comments on Wuthering <br>Expectations: A 19th century Yiddish reading list, pt. 3 - Dybbuks, postcards, and King LearAmateur Reader (Tom)http://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-29827650763757083772014-09-21T20:48:41.804-05:002014-09-21T20:48:41.804-05:00Yes, I only became aware of them since they came o...Yes, I only became aware of them since they came out as E booksMel uhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08714473754458914681noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-34348651162734731362014-09-21T15:03:58.989-05:002014-09-21T15:03:58.989-05:00Actually, I read several of those Yale UP books. ...Actually, I read several of those Yale UP books. I believe the word "since: applies to their publication as e-books. But they have also added some tempting new titles, like <i>The Glatstein Chronicles</i>.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-25598710313553312682014-09-21T06:05:51.307-05:002014-09-21T06:05:51.307-05:00Since your post Yale University Press has publishe...Since your post Yale University Press has published a very good set of nine books of Yiddish literature. This might be the easiest way for most be to access this reading area. Mel uhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08714473754458914681noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-15734980206820534432014-09-20T23:10:59.218-05:002014-09-20T23:10:59.218-05:00"ultra-realistic" - S. Ansky was unspari..."ultra-realistic" - S. Ansky was unsparing. It is as if he just wrote what he saw.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-29496047760283818652014-09-20T22:53:30.521-05:002014-09-20T22:53:30.521-05:00I just read his short story, "The Tavern"...I just read his short story, "The Tavern", a great ultra realistic work worthy of Zola at his darkest.Mel uhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08714473754458914681noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-27863904201603478512009-01-11T19:45:00.000-06:002009-01-11T19:45:00.000-06:00I've now read a bit about the Roskies book - it's ...I've now read a bit about the Roskies book - it's a must, a great recommendation. I just want to read some more of the primary literature before I pick it up.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-70690649757563929952009-01-11T04:55:00.000-06:002009-01-11T04:55:00.000-06:00I've had another look at Roskies, A Bridge of Long...I've had another look at Roskies, A Bridge of Longing, and realise my memory had suggested it was more concerned with oral storyelling that it actually is, though the fictional universe of the writers he covers has roots in folk tradition. It's rare to find a work of literary criticism that is as readable and exciting as a work of literature, but A Bridge of Longing is one of them.Neilhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18020242863144175965noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-20372556047195370702009-01-09T16:45:00.000-06:002009-01-09T16:45:00.000-06:00Rabbi Nahman is one of the world's great thinkers ...Rabbi Nahman is one of the world's great thinkers and great imaginers. Not a writer, really. Something else. I think, though, that the oral tradition lies at the root of Yiddish literature, in a way it perhaps doesn't in any other culture. This explains the humour, the fantasy, the element of the macabre, and the strange spiritual thread that weaves through it all. Anyway, I look forward to hearing what you think of Nahman.Neilhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18020242863144175965noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-77178507899127013752009-01-09T14:56:00.000-06:002009-01-09T14:56:00.000-06:00This is so helpful. I left Rabbi Nahman off my lis...This is so helpful. I left Rabbi Nahman off my list ignorantly, but deliberately, unsure of his "literariness". Now you've got me excited to read him, and the Roskies book, too.<BR/><BR/><EM>Yiddish Folktales</EM> is on its way from the library now; more of these will follow, I'm sure. Thanks a lot.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-70751272899250851282009-01-08T17:49:00.000-06:002009-01-08T17:49:00.000-06:00I started out thinking, I don't know anything abou...I started out thinking, I don't know anything about this, but I realise I do, a bit. The Yiddish literature I have is mostly later, Singer etc., but from earlier years I do have Ansky's The Dybbuk and other writings, because it is edited by David G. Roskies, who is the great expert on Yiddish oral literature. His book A Bridge of Longing: The Lost Art of Yiddish Storytelling is an absolute must for you - not original literature in itself, but a brilliantly insightful and authoritative bridge to an otherwise unknown world. And at the centre of A Bridge of Longing is the gigantic figure in world literature of Rabbi Nahman of Bratslav. At the same time as the Grimm brothers were collecting their German folktales, Rabbi Nahman was taking the Yiddish folktale apart and putting it back together in a post-modern way. He is probably the greatest single storyteller ever. There's a good biography by Arthur Green, Tormented Master: The Life and Spiritual Quest of Rabbi Nahman of Bratslav. The best translation of the tales is Nahman of Bratslav: The Tales, by Arnold J. Band. The stories are very complex, especially the longest and best, The Seven Beggars, but they are utterly fantastic. Otherwise: Have a look at Yiddish Folktales by Beatrice Silverman Weinreich, (and if you like this, there are a number of books by Howard Schwartz well worth investigating), and I would also particularly recommend Voices of a People: The Story of Yiddish Folksong, by Ruth Rubin; this is an academic work, but is much less dry than it sounds, with very lively translations on almost every page.Neilhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18020242863144175965noreply@blogger.com