Jacob Glatstein on Mendele (1968)

A live recording of Yiddish poet Jacob Glatstein’s lecture on Mendele Moykher Sforim, “the grandfather of Yiddish literature" from the 42nd Annual YIVO Conference, originally broadcast on June 2, 1968. Glatstein talks about Mendele and his contemporaries, particularly the lexicographer J. M. Lifshitz. He spoke of Mendele as a synthesizer, “who painted both the miseries and the glories of the Diaspora.”  

From 1963-1976, YIVO had its own program on WEVD, the radio station established by the Socialist Party of America in 1927 (its call letters stand for the initials of American socialist leader Eugene V. Debs), which was purchased by the Jewish Daily Forward in 1932 and became a major venue from Yiddish programming. 

YIVO used its spot on WEVD for Yiddish-language interviews and discussions with leading New York Yiddish cultural figures, as well as for reporting on its own scholarly and cultural work.

A new podcast of this program in the order in which it was originally broadcast will be posted here every two weeks.

Series curated by Matt Temkin, YIVO Sound Archives.

Listen to the program

[This program is in Yiddish.]