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.

"She's Known as Practically the First Erotic Woman Writer": Celia Dropkin's Poetry and Her Strong, Determined Personality

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Elizabeth Starčević, granddaughter of Yiddish poet Celia Dropkin, describes her grandmother's poetry, saying that she is known as "practically the first erotic woman writer," and discusses her strong and determined personality.

This is an excerpt from an oral history with Elizabeth Starčević.

This excerpt is in English.

Elizabeth Starčević was born in New York, New York in 1942.

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

Other video highlights from this oral history

"I Want to Paint Women with a Vision of Strength as Well as Challenge, so Isn't That a Politic?": Celia Dropkin's Politics as Expressed Through Her Art

2 min

Celia Dropkin's "Paint Things" and Her Habit of Painting Her Immediate Surroundings

4 min 6 sec

Hearing Celia Dropkin's Poetry Growing Up

1 min 39 sec

"This is Something That Would Speak with Audre Lorde": Things People Should Know About Celia's Life, Poetry, and Personality

2 min 15 sec

"I Think, 'Ah, is This What She Thought?'": Reading Celia's Work in Translation and Discovering New Ideas With Each Reading

4 min 52 sec

More information about this oral history excerpt

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