The New World

The Dybbukast

In our fifth episode of the season, presented in collaboration with Lilith magazine, we explore the Yiddish short story “The New World,” written by Esther Singer Kreitman in the first half of the twentieth century. The English translation by Barbara Harshav, which you can hear excerpts from in the episode, was published in Lilith in 1991.

Dr. Anita Norich, Professor Emerita of English and Judaic Studies at the University of Michigan, takes us through the story, while also discussing the author’s life and the ways in which her work speaks to the themes and complexities in Yiddish literature. She also touches on the role that societal assumptions about gender have played in the lack of awareness around Yiddish fiction written by women.