Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ____________________________________________________
Contents of Vol. 19.024 April 25, 2010 1) I.B. Singer story sought (Russell Block) 2) gram shtram (Barnett Zumoff) 3) gram shtram (Martin Davis) 4) demoniac (Josh Price) 5) finfer turem, finfer shlos (Petr Jan Vins) 6) Shakespeare's "The Tempest in Yiddish (Rebecca Jane Fletcher) 7) Sutskevers a lid (Shimen Noyberg) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Subject: I.B. Singer story sought Date: April 17, 2010 I am trying to identify a short story by I.B. Singer that I read some years ago. Here is a brief summary of the plot: A Holocaust survivor living in New York City receives an invitation to a ball for survivors from his shtetl to be held in lower Manhattan. Although the weather is cold and it is snowing heavily, he decides at the last moment to attend. He hails a taxi to take him downtown and, then, a few blocks from his destination, the taxi is involved in an accident. He decides to go the rest of the way on foot. Arriving at the ball, he sees many old friends, some of whom he thought to be dead. After a while, he realizes that he too is dead. This is one of the most chilling ghost stories I have ever read. Can anyone identify the title and the volume in which it was published? Naturally, I would "die" to get hold of the original Yiddish text. Russell Block 2)---------------------------------------------------- Subject: gram shtram Date: April 11, 2010 Could this be a reference to the lines "gram, shtram, latutnik," from "I am Mani Leyb" (by, of course, Mani Leyb) (cf. Goldsmith's Yiddish Literature in America)? I have translated those lines as: Gram, shtram, patch-maker", referring to the fact that Mani Leyb was a cobbler. Barnett Zumoff 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: April 11, 2010 Subject: gram shtram In my family it was "gram shtram, makh mir a gramida"; I've never heard "letnik". Martin Davis 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: April 15, 2010 Subject: demoniac One of my professors wonders if there is a Yiddish equivalent for the noun "demoniac." Harkavy gives "eyner vos hot in zikh a sheyd." This seems, however, rather unimaginative. Josh Price 5)---------------------------------------------------- Date: April 11, 2010 Subject: finfer turem, finfer shlos Just an idea... I would understand "Finfer-turem, Finfer-shlos" as a reference to Prague's Lesser Quarter, which has an coat of arms with five towers. See the coat of arm here: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fd/Prague_Lesser_Quarter_- _coat_of_arms_%28belfry%29.jpg Greetings from Prague Petr Jan Vins 6)---------------------------------------------------- Date: April 12, 2010 Subject: Shakespeare's "The Tempest" Friends: I am seeking any information on the Yiddish version of Shakespeare's "The Tempest." Specifically, I want to learn when the first translation into Yiddish was published. Also, I have read that "Di shturem" was one of the final productions mounted in Warsaw just prior to war. Does anyone know if "Di shturem" was produced on an earlier occasion in Warsaw and, if so, at which theater and when? How often was it performed in Yiddish? How popular might it have been? Whatever information you may have, or leads to information, would be much appreciated. With thanks, Rebecca Joy Fletcher 7)---------------------------------------------------- Date: April 12, 2010 Subject: Sutskevers a lid Sheva Tsuker bet dem original tsu der iberzetsung fun Sutskevers a lid: You say: There is no God. No world creator. If so, my friend, it seems, the miracle is greater: He isn't and created all that isn't, all that is, Light and shade, rainbows of madness, all are his: [...] dos lid gefint zikh i in "Fun alte un yunge ksav-yadn" z. 190 in "Tsviling-bruder" z. 75 (dem ershtn opdruk 1976 in der "Goldene Keyt" hob ikh nit gezukht). dos lid geyt azoy: du zogst: nito keyn boyre-oylem. veyst mistome beser, nor oyb azoy, kolege, iz der vunder, dakht zikh, greser: nito, un hot bashafn di nitoen un di doen, baynand mit likht un shotn un kolirn fun shigoen. bashafn lebn un bashafn toyt oyf lange yorn, mir zoln bloyz an eyntsik mol farzukhn zayne kraytekhtser. bashafn klangen-perl in der mushl fun zikorn un volkndlekh mit zeyere farvandlungen un baytekhtser. du zogst: a goyrl nemt men in di eygene yodayim, kolege, ikh bin maskim az tsu nemen iz keday im. vu nemt men im? un vi azoy? dertseyl es mayne finger, dem eyfl-turem nemen oyfn aksl iz dokh gringer. dayn shotn hot arayngekert, zet oys, a tseber mashke, nor kh'muz a sod fartroyen in zikh hoydendike oyern: aleyn dem goyrl trogn iz bloyz feik a murashke, derheybn zikh tsu ir madreyge darf undz nokh gedoyern. mit hartsike grusn, Sh. Noyberg ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 19.024 Please do not use the "reply" key when writing to Mendele. Instead, direct your mail as follows: Material for Mendele Personal Notices & Announcements, i.e. announcements of events, commercial publications, requests to which responses should be sent exclusively to the request's author, etc., always in plain text (no HTML or the like) to: [email protected] (in the subject line write Mendele Personal) Material for postings to Mendele Yiddish literature and language, i.e. inquiries and comments of a non-commercial or publicity nature: [email protected] IMPORTANT: Please include your full name as you would like it to appear in your posting. No posting will appear without its author's name. Submissions to regular Mendele should not include personal email addresses, as responses will be posted for all to read. They must also include the author's name as you would like it to appear. 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