Why Yiddish Matters

ABOUT THIS LECTURE: What is the relationship between language and fate, homecomings and leave-takings, the commitment to art and a writer’s service to his community? We will explore these question through the prism of Sutzkever, whom one scholar called “the last great Yiddish poet.” Justin Cammy, a leading world expert on Sutzkever, will introduce us to Sutzkever’s writings, from the beginning of his career in interwar Poland to his contributions to the cultural life of the Vilna Ghetto to his dedication to rebuilding Yiddish culture after the war in in the first Hebrew city, Tel Aviv. Why does Sutzkever, and Yiddish, continue to matter, and what can we learn about ourselves by reading a great Jewish writer?

ABOUT THIS SPEAKER: Professor Justin Cammy is director of the program in Jewish studies at Smith College, where he is associate professor of Jewish Studies and Comparative Literature and also a member of the programs in Russian and East European Studies and Middle East Studies. He is senior fellow at the Goldreich Institute for Yiddish Language, Literature, and Culture at Tel Aviv University, and summer director of the Naomi Prawer Kadar International Yiddish Program at Tel Aviv University. He is a recipient of Smith College’s Sherrerd Award for Distinguished Teaching.