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This is a live, online course held weekly on Zoom. Enrollment will be capped at about 25 students. This class will be conducted in Yiddish.4 Sessions | Sundays, 4:00pm – 5:30pm ET
January 4, 11, 18, 25
Instructor: Mikhl Yashinsky
Together we will read excerpts from the memoirs of Esther-Rokhl Kaminska, the “Mother of Yiddish Theatre,” published in 2025 in translation with notes and an introduction by the instructor. As her brilliant and revealing story unfolds, we will follow Kaminska from her native shtetl, to the barns in which her wandering troupe first performs, and eventually to the brightly lit stages of Warsaw. On our trip with her aboard her careening covered wagon, we will become acquainted with Madame Kaminska’s personality, witness the customs and linguistic quirks of her religious childhood environment and of her troupe, and delve into the sights and sounds of the world this outstanding diva describes, using her own language to enrich our own.
Yiddish Level:
Suitable for all those with at least a second-year knowledge of Yiddish and good reading ability. Readings and discussion will be in Yiddish, with students encouraged to read the instructor's English-language introduction to Kaminska in his translation—which we will also be using for the images it contains—and invited to read here and there in the translation to enhance their understanding (and to look into chapters not covered in class).
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Event Venue
Online event, 15 W 16th St, New York, NY 10011-6301, United States, New York, New York
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