The new book “Yiddish: A Global Culture”, a full-color catalog by David Mazower, showcases the groundbreaking permanent exhibition at the Yiddish Book Center in Amherst, which “places Yiddish at the heart of intellectual and creative life in Europe and both Americas”.
The exhibition, inaugurated in 2023, features thousands of rare objects and encompasses a broad range of historical and cultural themes focusing on the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when millions of Yiddish-speaking Jews emigrated from Europe to the US and other countries around the globe. It also presents a rich variety of extraordinary personal stories from passionate radicals to avant-garde artists and famous authors. Mazower, the chief curator of the exhibit, offers a comprehensive systematic guide to this vast collection of museum items.
The exhibition and the new book also emphasize the fact – highlighted by our project as well – that Yiddish remains a flourishing living language, which continues to inspire music, literature, theater, art and cultural events worldwide.