num_pages: 240
description: Yiddish is everywhere. We hear words like nosh schlep and schmutz all the time but how did these words come to pepper American English? In Yiddishkeit: Jewish Vernacular and the New Land Harvey Pekar and Paul Buhle trace the influence of Yiddish from medieval Europe to the tenements of New Yorks Lower East Side. This comics anthology contains original stories by notable writers and artists such as Barry Deutsch Peter Kuper Spain Rodriguez and Sharon Rudahl. Through illustrations comics art and a full-length play four major themes are explored: culture performance assimilation and the revival of the language. The last fully realized work by Harvey Pekar this book is a thoughtful compilation that reveals the far-reaching influences of Yiddish.Praise for Yiddishkeit: The book is about what Neal Gabler in his introduction labels Jewish sensibility. It pervades this volume which he acknowledges is messy; he writes: You really can't define Yiddishkeit neatly in words or pictures. You sort of have to feel it by wading into it. The book does this with gusto. New York Times Yiddishkeit is as colorful bawdy and charming as the culture it seeks to represent. Print magazine every bit of it brimming with the charm and flavor of its subject and seamlessly meshing with the text to create a genuinely compelling scholarly comics experience Publishers WeeklyYiddishkeit is a book that truly informs about Jewish culture and in the process challenges readers to pick apart their own vocabulary. Chicago Tribune a postvernacular tour de force The Forward A fascinating and enlightening effort that takes full use of the graphic storytelling medium in an insightful and revelatory way. The Miami Herald With a loving eye Pekar and Buhle extract moments and personalities from Yiddish history. Hadassah gorgeous comix-style portraits of Yiddish writers Tablet Yiddishkeit has managed to survive if just barely not because there are individuals dedicated to its survival though there are but because Yiddishkeit is an essential part of both the Jewish and the human experience. Neal Gabler author of An Empire of Their Own: How the Jews Invented Hollywood from his introduction
language: English
title: Yiddishkeit: Jewish Vernacular and the New Land
publisher: Harry N. Abrams