The Yiddish Book Center's

Wexler Oral History Project

A growing collection of in-depth interviews with people of all ages and backgrounds, whose stories about the legacy and changing nature of Yiddish language and culture offer a rich and complex chronicle of Jewish identity.

A Tradition of Father-Son (Recycled) Art in the Halpern Family

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Isaac (Ying) Halpern, son of Yiddish poet Moyshe-Leyb Halpern, describes the way an artistic impulse is passed down through his family. In particular, he describes being inspired by his father as well as his children, and how the desire to reuse discarded materials is present in each of their works despite different motivations.

This is an excerpt from an oral history with Isaac (Ying) Halpern.

This excerpt is in English.

Isaac (Ying) Halpern was born in New York, New York in 1923.

This interview is part of the Beyond the Books: Yiddish writers and their descendants series.


Other video highlights from this oral history