David G. Roskies (Pt. 1 of 2)

Interview with Prof. David G. Roskies. This is part 1 of 2. Part 2 airs next week.

About Dr. Roskies: David G. Roskies is the Sol and Evelyn Henkind Chair in Yiddish Literature and Culture and a professor of Jewish literature at The Jewish Theological Seminary. Since 2013, he has also served as the Naomi Prawer Kadar Visiting Professor of Yiddish Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Dr. Roskies was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2012.

Roskies has published nine books, including, notably, Yiddishlands (2008), a personal and family memoir described as a “whirlwind tour of modern Yiddish culture”, which is discussed in detail in his interview with the Yiddish Voice. Roskies received his undergraduate and graduate education at Brandeis University, where he received his doctorate in 1975. He was an early member of the highly influential Havurat Shalom in Somerville, MA, and co-founded Yugntruf (Youth for Yiddish; yugntruf.org), an organization of Yiddish-speaking young adults.

Also: in honor of Thanksgiving: “Intervyu Mitn Toyrki” (Interview with a Turkey) by the late Yiddish radio host, actor, and cantor Ben Gailing, from his radio show “Der Freylekher Kabtsen”. Thanks to Hankus Netsky, tsu lange yor, Ben’s producer, for this recording.