#WITMonth: Jewish Women in Translation
By Erika DreifusPer this website, "WITMonth - aka Women in Translation Month - is an annual celebration of women writers from around the world, writing in languages other than English. Started by Meytal Radzinski in 2014, WITMonth has grown to become a staple of the online literary community, as well as a prominent presence in independent bookstores around the world. Every August, readers from all continents around the world (except Antarctica, but we’ll get those penguins yet!) gather in spirit (and sometimes in person) to read, review, and discuss works by women writers in translation. The idea is to spread the word about the Women in Translation project at large, and promote individual women writers in translation specifically."
And the idea of this list is to spread the word about individual Jewish women writers in translation specifically! This list includes books that I've written about, taught, and/or simply particularly appreciated as a reader.
On Her Own
Lihi Lapid
$30.00 $27.90I was particularly motivated to read this book after discovering how much difficulty the author was having in trying to promote it: https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2024-06-11/ty-article-magazine/.premium/lihi-lapid-wife-of-ex-pm-discovers-grim-new-reality-for-israeli-authors-in-america/0000018f-fea3-d5ad-ad8f-feeb80280000?gift=e7e34b69065548aea2bcb0dd4d91f1d9.
On the Landing: Stories by Yenta MASH
Yenta Mash
$16.95 $15.76Such an important addition to Jewish literature now available in English. I teach from the book in my "Contemporary Jewish Short Stories," class, to help illustrate current/recent attention to work, by women writers, that was originally published in Yiddish.
The Property
Rutu Modan
$24.95 $23.20I treasure my autographed copy: https://www.erikadreifus.com/2013/07/from-my-bookshelf-the-property-by-rutu-modan-trans-jessica-cohen/.
Textile
Orly Castel-Bloom
$20.85My review: https://www.erikadreifus.com/2013/10/wednesdays-wip-a-recent-review/.
Glikl: Memoirs 1691-1719
Glikl
$22.94It took me a long time to get around to reading this--but Glikl is a Jewish literary foremother!
Hannah Senesh: Her Life and Diary, the First Complete Edition
Hannah Senesh
$19.99 $18.59Hannah Senesh. Heroine.
A Scrap of Time and Other Stories
Ida Fink
$21.60Another title that I teach from, particularly when teaching "Holocaust Literature."
Rue Ordener, Rue Labat
Sarah Kofman
$23.00This one came to my attention early in my teaching career--when one of my students asked if we could read it together.
Twenty Girls to Envy Me: Selected Poems of Orit Gidali
Orit Gidali
$18.40NB: Note that translator Marcela Sulak is a writer in her own right.
Diary of a Lonely Girl, or the Battle Against Free Love
Miriam Karpilove
$19.95 $18.55Another example of a translation that illustrates current/recent attention to work originally published in Yiddish.
A Bride for One Night: Talmud Tales
Ruth Calderon
$21.95 $20.41Not inspired by the Bible--but close!
The Diary of a Young Girl: The Definitive Edition
Anne Frank
$8.99 $8.36The first book in translation that I read that was written by a Jewish woman (or, in this case, a girl). And probably many of you can say the same.
Seven Good Years: A Yiddish Folktale
Shoham Smith and Eitan Eloa
$19.99 $18.59Another of my more recent reads.
For the Love of the Father
Chochana Boukhobza
$19.95 $18.55And another recent read. Still puzzling over the ending (have written to the translator, whom I know, to inquire).
All the Rivers
Dorit Rabinyan
$27.00 $25.11Where is the cover image here? In any case, this one you *may* have heard of. It got quite a lot of press. https://www.jta.org/2017/06/21/ny/a-forbidden-love-storys-multiple-plots