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.

Hearing Celia Dropkin's Poetry Growing Up

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Elizabeth Starčević, granddaughter of Yiddish poet Celia Dropkin, describes growing up hearing her grandmother recite her poems to the family, and discusses how moving she finds Celia's poetry.

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

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

3 min 6 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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