Literarishe Bleter was distinctive in the history of Yiddish-language publications: it was Warsaw's longest running, Yiddish-language weekly literary journal, appearing from 1924 to 1939. It was not affiliated with a political organisation; and Nakhman Mayzel, one of its four founders and later its sole editor, relentlessly committed the publication to the furtherance of the broad scope of Yiddish literature, language and culture. Prior scholarly attention has been generally confined to the extraction of the journal's literary content, with little attention paid to the publication's historical interest in understanding the scope and depth of Yiddish cultural production and development. This thesis will provide the first documentation of the history of the journal: the historical contexts which promoted its creation; its key editors and contributors; and its ongoing quest for a broad national and international readership. The focus of the thesis will be upon issues pertaining to Yiddish language itself as presented in Literarishe bleter and within a wider context. Mayzel's passionate interest in Yiddish resulted in continuous articles about the shifts in language and culture throughout the period of publication. Although many Yiddish-speaking communities existed throughout the world, the emphasis in this study is on the Yiddish-language cultural centres frequently represented in Literarishe bleter such as: Poland, Soviet Russia, the United States and Mandate Palestine. All four centres presented distinct challenges to the survival and growth of Yiddish, to which Mayzel's editorial policy of intellectual openness was well suited. Moreover, this policy often resulted in a kaleidoscope of opinions which fostered lively debate among the readership. Although Literarishe bleter was intended as a literary publication, as a historical source it provides invaluable information on cultural and literary trends, Yiddish pedagogy, artistic expression, Yiddish book production, and the nature of the Yiddish language itself both in Poland and beyond during the interwar period.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:626001 |
| Date | January 2013 |
| Creators | Beeri, S. |
| Publisher | University College London (University of London) |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/1396232/ |
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