The Storm Within: Yiddish Children’s Literature and the “Invention Of Childhood”

Every children’s literary tradition is marked by the circumstances of its founding moment. The first decades of the twentieth century marked a period of political upheaval and possibility across the Yiddish-speaking world, which coincided with the increasing centrality accorded to childhood throughout the West. By addressing children directly through a new literature aimed specifically at them, Yiddish cultural leaders forged a novel pathway toward building a modern Jewish nation. How did they imagine a secular yet Jewishly rooted collectivity? How did their vision account for complexities in the emotional lives of children?

Supported by the generosity of the Naomi Foundation.

Miriam Udel is associate professor of German Studies and Jewish Studies at Emory University, where her teaching focuses on Yiddish language, literature, and culture. She holds an AB in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations from Harvard University, as well as a PhD in Comparative Literature from the same institution. Her first book, Never Better!: The Modern Jewish Picaresque (University of Michigan Press, 2016) won the National Jewish Book Award in Modern Jewish Thought and Experience. Honey on the Page: An Anthology of Yiddish Children’s Literature appeared in October with New York University Press. She is currently working on a critical study of Yiddish children’s literature and translating Khaver Paver’s Labzik: Stories of a Clever Pup as a Translation Fellow at the Yiddish Book Center.

The Naomi Prawer Kadar Annual Memorial Lecture provides an opportunity for the public to explore topics of Yiddish language and linguistics, the history of Yiddish, Yiddish children’s literature and education. The lecture is supported by the Naomi Prawer Kadar Foundation, Inc., which is dedicated to reimagining education. The Naomi Foundation champions Yiddish, Naomi’s lifelong passion, as a vibrant, rich, and contemporary language. The Naomi Foundation advances the teaching and learning of Yiddish, particularly in academic and scholarly settings.