----------------------- Message requiring your approval ---------------------- From: Jereme Guerrero <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [ha-Safran]: Words on Fire
October 2004
Dear Friend:
We are sending you information about Words on Fire: The Unfinished Story of Yiddish, a new book by Dovid Katz. There are a limited number of review copies available, plus phone interviews can be arranged. See press release below. Please call us with any questions at 212-691-9707.
Best Regards,
Carol Fass Publicity & Public Relations, Inc. 26 W 17th St, Ste 802 New York, NY 10011 212-691-9707 212-691-5012 (fax) www.fasspr.com [EMAIL PROTECTED] * * * * * WORDS ON FIRE: The Unfinished Story of Yiddish By Dovid Katz Publication Date: Oct 1, 2004
�Dovid Katz's book on Yiddish reflects the beauty, the variety, and the warmth of a language that refuses to be extinguished. Its miraculous survival brings joy to its readers.�
�Elie Wiesel
�Dovid Katz, with his breadth of knowledge and research of this remarkable language and the culture that sustained it, has written a unique book that is both dynamic and informative.�
Jerusalem Post
WORDS ON FIRE: The Unfinished Story of Yiddish (Basic Books, October 1, 2004) draws on almost thirty years of scholarship. Prominent Yiddish scholar Dovid Katz traces the origins and evolution of the Yiddish language. The first account of its kind, WORDS ON FIRE offers an engaging delineation of the rich history of this unique language. Katz traces the origins of Yiddish back to the Europe of a thousand years ago and illustrates how these origins are themselves an uninterrupted continuation of the previous three millennia of Jewish history and culture in the Near East. WORDS ON FIRE narrates the history of Yiddish from the eleventh century to present day, through its development as written literature, particularly for and by Jewish women. In the wake of secularizing and modernizing movements of the nineteenth century, Yiddish rose spectacularly in a few short years from a mass folk idiom to the language of sophisticated modern literature, theater, and journalism.
Some interesting Yiddish facts from WORDS ON FIRE:
� Mazl, which means �luck� is used in common Yiddish expressions, such as m�zl-tof! (Congratulations!)
� Some Yiddish names have survived into the twenty-first century. The famous Yentl (�Fiddler On the Roof�) is one of the oldest Yiddish names, and it is derived from Romance gentil, meaning �well-bred� or �genteel�.
� The oldest known dated Yiddish document dates to 1272.
� Yiddish was written in the ancient Jewish alphabet as soon as it was spoken.
� In an effort to stamp out Yiddish in Germany, anti-Semitic books appeared accusing the Jews of having a secret language used to fool Christians. There were even dictionaries authored by anti-Semites in an effort to �crack the code� of the Yiddish language.
Although a secular Yiddish culture no longer exists, Katz argues that its resurgence among religious Jewish communities ensures that Yiddish will continue to thrive into the twenty-first century. For anyone interested in social tradition, linguistics, or Jewish history, WORDS ON FIRE promises to be the definitive account of a remarkable language and of the culture that created and sustained it. Please take special note of the inside of this beautifully illustrated book, as there are numerous prints, drawings, charts, and maps. Appearing in October, WORDS ON FIRE accompanies the centennial celebration of Isaac Bashevis Singer, the only Yiddish author to receive a Nobel Prize for literature (1978). In a time of emerging Yiddish cultural awareness, Katz�s work is a much-needed chronicle of the evolution and modern understanding of the language.
DOVID KATZ holds a BA from Columbia University and a Ph.D. in linguistics from the University of London. A former Guggenheim recipient, he has taught at Oxford and at Yale. He now heads the Vilnius Yiddish Institute at Vilnius University and divides his time between Lithuania and Wales.
�I love this book. It's a treasure trove of nostalgia and a beacon of hope. It warmed my heart to read how the rich emotional Yiddish jargon became an elegant language of literature; then it broke my heart to read about the near-total destruction of Yiddish civilization, one of the great cultures of the world. This book revives hope that Yiddish will still flourish, even in a small way.�
�Alan Dershowitz
WORDS ON FIRE: The Unfinished Story of Yiddish By Dovid Katz Basic Books, A Member of the Perseus Books Group Hardcover/$26.95/430 pages/Judaica/History/ISBN: 0-465-03728-3
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