Course DescriptionIn this course we will study a group of marginal immigrant poets who struggled to make ends meet in New York of the 1930s and 1940s. We will learn about how these writers juggled their diasporic roots and religious heritage with art and radical politics, all the while creating literature in the marginalized Yiddish language. Though our readings of poems originally written in Yiddish, Hebrew, French, and English, we will explore questions of language, gender, ethnicity, marginality, and tradition. Moving on to current times, we will follow the legacy of Yiddish poetry to the work of contemporary Yiddish artists, poets and musicians. In addition to standard writing assignments, students will produce original poetry, participate in weekly poetry workshops, visit local poetry readings and spoken-word events, and have the opportunity to showcase their work to a large audience. Language: English

Course Goals1. Knowledge and familiarity with Yiddish writers2. Ability to situate and understand Yiddish poetry in the contexts of both Jewish culture and world poetry 3. An improved understanding of poetics and literary devices 4. Confidence to make grounded interpretations of literary texts5. The ability to practice creative writing, both original and inspired by other works6. Ability to read poetry aloud as a form of interpretation

Requirements and Grading Breakdown:1. Student attendance and participation in all classes and weekly creative writing assignments (15%)2. Weekly creative writing assignments: every Wednesday, students must bring a short poem or written piece inspired by the week’s readings or events, and

1

Yiddish

PROF. MARINA ZILBERGERTSMWF 11:00 ● 1351 VAN HISE ● LITTRANS 247 ●

JEWISH230

participate in the class workshop. (Each student is permitted two exemptions.) (15%)3. Midterm: Poetry analysis essay (30%) Due: Nov. 23 Instruction sheet will be

provided. 4. Poetry Reading visit and write-up. (10%) 5. Final: Performance of original poem inspired by Yiddish poets (location TBD), accompanied by analysis. (30%) Due: Thursday Dec.11 Instruction sheet will be provided.

Note: Please refer to the UW website for letter-grade breakdown and disability policy.

Materials: Course materials are available in course packet which will be shared with students on box. The course packet must be printed and brought to each class. All other materials will be provided.

Schedule of Readings :

Week 1: Sept 4-8 IntroductionM- Labor DayW- Introduction F- Daniel Khan vs. Leonard Cohen’s “Halleluiah” (find both of these songs with lyrics on Youtube)

Week 2: Sept 11-15 Feminist Yiddish Poets M- Anna Margolin, read bio and poems “Once I Was a Youth,” and “Once I Was Young,” compare the two translations.W- “The Proud Song,” also “I am Under the Bramble Bush” by Esther RaabF- “Dear Monsters,” “Mother Earth, Well-Worn, Sun-Washed”

Week 3. Sept 18-22 Feminist Yiddish Poets Cont.M- Kadya Molodovsky, read bio and “Women’s Songs” (1 and 2), “Invitation,” “White Night”W- “God of Mercy,” and Yehuda Amichai’s “God Full of Mercy”F- Sept. 22, no class Week 4. Sept 25-29 Yiddish Poets in the USSR M - Perets Markish, read bio and poems “To a Jewish Dancer,” “Shards”W- Markish continue to the end of the packet (pg. 348 and 350)F- Moshe Kulbak, read bio and “Vilna”

Week 5. Oct 2-6 Modernist Manifestos and the Poetry of New YorkM- “Futurist Manifesto” by Marinetti, “Futurist Manifesto of Lust” by Valentine de Saint-Point, A. Layeles read bio and poems “Wall Street,” “In the Subway”W- “Manhattan Bridge I and II,” “Symmetry”F- Oct 6, no class

Week 6. Oct 9-13 Poetry of New York Cont.M- J. L.Teller, read bio and poems “New York Landscapes,” “October”W- “New York in a Jewish Mood”F- October 13, no class

2

Week 7. Oct 16-20 American Yiddish Poetry M- Moyshe Leib Halperin, read bio and poems “Why Not,” a poem titled “My Wild One My You” will be provided in class.W- “My Fear is from a Wolf”, “Memento,” “End of the Book”F- “We the Revolutionaries, or This is America,” “In the Golden Land”

Week 8. Oct 23-27 American Yiddish Poetry cont.M- “The Yiddish Introspecitivst Manifesto” (In Zhikh Manifesto), Yankev Glatshtein, read bio, and “Mozart”W- “Without Jews”, “Yiddishkayt” F- “Shabbat,” “Joy of the Yiddish Word”

Week 9. Oct 30- Nov 3 American Yiddish Poetry cont.M- Glatshtein cont. “From Our Yoke,” Charles Baudelaire “The Venal Muse”W- “I’m Coming to You”F- “Good Night World”

Week 10. Nov 6-10 Yiddish ProseM- Class meeting at the Sholem Aleichem conference located in Pyle Center Room 325/326W- Sholem Aleichem “The Yom Kippur Scandal”F- Sholem Aleichem “The Pot”

Week 11. Nov 13-17 Yiddish Poetry in EuropeM -Yitzik Manger, read bio and poems “Eve and Apple Tree”W- “Hagar Leaves Abrahams House,” “The Patriarch Jacob Meets Rachel”F- “There is a Tree That Stands,” watch videos in class

Week 12. Nov 20-24 Nineteenth-century Yiddish Poetry M - Y. L. Peretz. “Monish,” pg .1-8W- “Monish” until end. Midterm paper is due by email on Nov. 23 by

midnight.F- Nov. 24 Thanksgiving – no class

Week 13 Nov 27- Dec 1 Erotic Poetry in Yiddish and Hebrew M- Celia Dropkin, read bio and “The Filth of Your Suspicion,” “Like Snow on the

Alps,”W- “Circus Dance,” “Adam” F- Dalia Ravikovich “The Love of an Orange”

Week 14. Dec 4-8 Hybridity in Contemporary Yiddish Culture (materials will be provided)M- Daniel Kahn, Psoy Korolenky and Oy Division: Ekh Lyuli Lyuli (listen to on

Youtube)W- Daniel Kahn and the Painted Birds lyricsF- Daniel Kahn and the Painted Birds lyrics cont.

Week 15. Dec 11-15

3

M - Watching “Yid-life Crisis,” Final Assignment Due Dec 11W - Watching “Yid-life Crisis.” last day of class.

4