YIVO Examines the Complexities of Writing Sholem Aleichem's Biography

New York, NY – On Thursday, September 8th at 7:00pm, Jeremy Dauber (director of Columbia's Institute of Israel and Jewish Studies) will deliver the annual Naomi Prawer Kadar Memorial Lecture at the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, located in the Center for Jewish History, 15 West 16th Street. In his lecture, titled “13 Ways of Looking at Sholem Aleichem: Notes from a Yiddish Writer’s Biographer,” Professor Dauber will discuss the life, work, and legacy of the great Yiddish writer Sholem Aleichem (Sholem Rabinovitsh) and the difficulties Dauber faced in writing the first comprehensive biography about the author. This lecture is in conjunction with two ongoing exhibitions at YIVO: Laughter is Still Healthy: Sholem Aleichem 100 Years Later, which includes dozens of rare manuscripts, letters , photographs, and posters from the YIVO archives, and Classic Yiddish Writers in Caricature, which showcases caricature portrayals of the three classic authors of Yiddish literature, Mendele Moykher-Seforim (S. Y. Abramovitsh), Y. L. Peretz, and Sholem Aleichem.

About YIVO

The YIVO Institute for Jewish Research is dedicated to the preservation and study of the history and culture of East European Jewry worldwide. For nearly a century, YIVO has pioneered new forms of Jewish scholarship, research, education, and cultural expression. Our public programs and exhibitions, as well as online and on-site courses, extend our outreach to a global community. The YIVO Archives contains 24 million unique items and YIVO’s Library has over 400,000 volumes—the single largest resource for the study of East European Jewish life in the world. yivo.org / yivo.org/the-whole-story

About Jeremy Dauber

Jeremy Dauber is the Atran Professor of Yiddish Language, Literature, and Culture at Columbia University, where he also serves as director of its Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies and teaches in the American Studies program. He received his undergraduate degree summa cum laude from Harvard and his doctorate from the University of Oxford, which he attended as a Rhodes Scholar. His previous books include In the Demon’s Bedroom: Yiddish Literature and the Early Modern and Antonio’s Devils: Writers of the Jewish Enlightenment and the Birth of Modern Hebrew and Yiddish Literature; his latest book,The Worlds of Sholem Aleichem, a biography (Schocken), was a finalist for the National Jewish Book Award and a recipient of the Sophie Brody Honor Medal from the American Library Association. He frequently lectures on topics related to Jewish literature, history, humor, and popular culture at the 92nd St Y and other venues throughout the United States; his next book, a history of Jewish comedy, will be published by Norton in the fall of 2017.

About the Annual Naomi Prawar Kadar Memorial Lecture

The Annual Naomi Prawer Kadar Memorial Lecture at the YIVO Institute provides an opportunity for the public to explore topics of Yiddish language and linguistics, the history of Yiddish, Yiddish children’s literature and education. The lecture is supported by the Naomi Prawer Kadar Foundation, Inc., which is dedicated to reimagining education. As an extension of Naomi Prawer Kadar's life’s work, the foundation's goal is to empower educators and promote leadership in education in order to inspire and nurture the next generation. Through entrepreneurial and established channels and together with their partners and grantees, the Naomi Foundation drives innovation to create meaningful and lasting impact. The Naomi Foundation champions Yiddish, Naomi’s lifelong passion, as a vibrant, rich, and contemporary language. The Naomi Foundation advances the teaching and learning of Yiddish, particularly in academic and scholarly settings.