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.

My Grandfather's Book, "Montreal of Yesterday"

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Vivian Felsen, professional translator and granddaughter of Yiddish writer I. Medres, discusses how her grandfather came to write "Montreal of Yesterday," and discusses the various themes it explores about Jewish immigrant life in Canada before 1914.

This is an excerpt from an oral history with Vivian Felsen.

This excerpt is in English.

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

Other video highlights from this oral history

Thoughts on Yiddish to English Translation

1 min 58 sec

Father's Childhood Experiences in Poland

4 min 27 sec

Growing Up With Knowledge Of The Holocaust

5 min 25 sec

Returning to Yiddish in Adulthood And Experiences In Vilna

5 min 33 sec

Memories of My Grandfather: Yiddish Writer, Israel Medres

2 min 55 sec

The Importance of Translation

2 min 42 sec

Process of Translating Yiddish to English

3 min 54 sec

More information about this oral history excerpt

Themes: