Description
Book SynopsisDescribes the role of traditional Jewish texts in the development of modern Yiddish literature, as well as the closely related development of modern Hebrew literature.
Trade Review“In this brilliant new book, Jordan Finkin illuminates with great flair and precision the many ways in which Talmudic discourse has shaped Yiddish language and literature, from the smallest peculiarities of Yiddish syntax to its largest cultural and discursive formations—the orchestrated associative digressions, the argumentative style, the entire cultural world known as ‘derekh hashas,’ the way of the Talmud.”
—Naomi Seidman,University of California, Berkeley
“A fascinating and engaging study that combines rigorous linguistic analysis with deft literary interpretation. By excavating the layers of Talmudic, biblical, and vernacular discourse within modern Yiddish literature, Jordan Finkin offers a compelling way of understanding the unique expressive qualities of this body of work. Through a series of persuasive readings of key figures such as Sholem Aleykhem, I. L. Perets, and Moyshe-Leyb Halpern, the book demonstrates the embeddedness of Yiddish writing in the textual origins of rabbinic Judaism without minimizing the originality, playfulness, and ironic force of these modern writers.”
—Julian Levinson,University of Michigan
“A learned, sophisticated, and smart book. Its exploration of the complex interrelationship between elite conversational discourse and its transition and transformation in the mouths, minds, and words of others is vital for a more nuanced understanding of Yiddish, its speakers, and its writers.”
—Jeremy Dauber,Columbia University
Table of ContentsContents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. The Case of the Tautological Infinitive
2. The Language of Jewish Discourse
3. Jewish Discourse and Modern Yiddish Poetry
4. Conversational Orchestration in the Tsenerene and Sholem Aleykhem
5. Y. L. Perets’s Conversational Art in Yiddish and Hebrew
Coda
Notes
Bibliography
Index
