In the Land of Happy Tears: Yiddish Tales for Modern Times : Collected and Edited by David Stromberg

You don't need to be Jewish to love Levy's rye bread, nor do you need to be Jewish to appreciate these wise tales. This engaging collection offers access to modern Yiddish works—translated for the first time into English—for anyone who appreciates a well-told story rich with timeless wisdom. A year-round book for families. Includes a comprehensive introduction on Yiddish culture. These eighteen stories for a changing world, never before translated into English, by writers from Eastern European countries including Russia and Poland, focus on excellent storytelling, strong characters, and creative ideas. The stories express solid principles and open-minded attitudes, and a sense of both familiarity and adventure in the face of difficult times. As the old Eastern European Yiddish-speaking world began to clash with modernity, Yiddish authors created new stories to capture the imaginations of children growing up in times of social and historical... You don't need to be Jewish to love Levy's rye bread, nor do you need to read Yiddish to appreciate these wise tales. This engaging collection offers access to modern works--translated for the first time into English--for anyone who appreciates a well-told story rich with timeless wisdom. A year-round book for families. Includes a comprehensive introduction on Yiddish culture. Largely overlooked or forgotten, these hidden treasures from the early and middle twentieth century by some of the most respected Yiddish writers of their time—including Jacob Kreplak, Moyshe Nadir, and Rachel Shabad—remain surprisingly resonant for a contemporary audience. Folktales can be scary, as wrongdoers often get their comeuppance in unsuspected or even macabre ways, but the reinvigoration of values sometimes perceived as quaint makes for a stimulating read. In this collection you’ll meet a king who loves honey so much that instead of ruling over his people, he licks honey all day. You’ll ponder the conundrum of the moon, who longs for a playmate—but where to find a child who isn’t fast asleep at night? You’ll enter a forest in which the king of mushrooms and the queen of ants coexist autonomously but face the same threat: the little hands and trampling feet of children at play. And you’ll learn how flavoring food with the salt from tears can pose a challenging dilemma. "Collected and arranged with the lightest of touches by David Stromberg, this gathering of little-known Yiddish tales enchants with an always-new old-world magic. In the Land of Happy Tears is utterly and actively refreshing, for the wide-eyed child in every grownup and children wising up everywhere." —poet, translator, and MacArthur Prize winner Peter Cole These eighteen stories for a changing world, never before translated into English, by writers from Eastern European countries including Russia and Poland, focus on excellent storytelling, strong characters, and creative ideas. The stories express solid principles and open-minded attitudes, and a sense of both familiarity and adventure in the face of difficult times. As the old Eastern European Yiddish-speaking world began to clash with modernity, Yiddish authors created new stories to capture the imaginations of children growing up in times of social and historical upheaval. These stories have largely been overlooked or forgotten, until now. These hidden treasures from the early- and mid-20th-century rich Yiddish literary tradition each provide a satisfying read, while the entire collection runs the gamut of storytelling modes used to bridge new and old worlds. Authors include some of the most respected Yiddish writers of their time, who were known in their homelands and then in America, such as Moishe Nadir, Jacob Reisfeder, Sonia Kantor, and many others. The ethos binding the stories focuses on messages that continue to ring true today while reinvigorating the idea of values largely usurped from contemporary society. A collection of stories from the early- and mid-20th century Yiddish literary tradition, in a variety of genres, by Eastern European writers such as Moyshe Nadir, Jacob Reisfeder, and Sonya Kantor