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.

Irena Klepfisz's Oral History

Irena Klepfisz, lesbian poet & writer, was interviewed by Christa Whitney on September 25, 2017 in Brooklyn, New York.

This interview was conducted in English.

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Video highlights from this oral history

"The History That's Never Taught": On the Complexities of the Search for Yiddish Women Writers

6 min 57 sec

Suddenly I was a Holocaust Survivor: A Child Survivor's Experience of American Holocaust Memorial Events

5 min 54 sec

My Father, Michał Klepfisz’s Role in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising

3 min 10 sec

Irena Klepfisz on Jewishness and the Jewish Labor Bund

4 min 36 sec

Constructing an Identity Apart from My Hero Father: Irena Klepfisz's Memories of the Arbeter Ring Shule

5 min 27 sec

Growing up in the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union Amalgamated Houses

2 min 48 sec

Oral history excerpt

My Jewish, Lesbian Experience of Second Wave Feminism and Yiddish Activism

Irena Klepfisz, lesbian poet and writer, reflects on how the intersections of her identity, as a Jewish, Yiddish-speaking, Lesbian, and feminist, has influenced her role in Yiddish culture and Jewish feminist poetry.

English

10 min 17 sec

Irena Klepfisz's Poetic Inspirations, both Yiddish and English

3 min 8 sec

My Path to Writing Bilingual Yiddish-English Poetry

6 min 56 sec

Irena Klepfisz on the Queerness of Contemporary Yiddish Culture

6 min 46 sec

My First Impressions of the Yiddish Book Center

2 min 53 sec

Irena Klepfisz's Oral History

Video highlights from this oral history

"The History That's Never Taught": On the Complexities of the Search for Yiddish Women Writers

Suddenly I was a Holocaust Survivor: A Child Survivor's Experience of American Holocaust Memorial Events

My Father, Michał Klepfisz’s Role in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising

Irena Klepfisz on Jewishness and the Jewish Labor Bund

Constructing an Identity Apart from My Hero Father: Irena Klepfisz's Memories of the Arbeter Ring Shule

Growing up in the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union Amalgamated Houses

My Jewish, Lesbian Experience of Second Wave Feminism and Yiddish Activism Irena Klepfisz, lesbian poet and writer, reflects on how the intersections of her identity, as a Jewish, Yiddish-speaking, Lesbian, and feminist, has influenced her role in Yiddish culture and Jewish feminist poetry.

Irena Klepfisz's Poetic Inspirations, both Yiddish and English

My Path to Writing Bilingual Yiddish-English Poetry

Irena Klepfisz on the Queerness of Contemporary Yiddish Culture

My First Impressions of the Yiddish Book Center

Artifacts related to this oral history

A Few Words in the Mother Tongue Poems by Irena Klepfisz cover

A Few Words in the Mother Tongue Poems by Irena Klepfisz back cover

A Few Words in the Mother Tongue Poems by Irena Klepfisz Warsaw 1983 Umschlagplatz

A Few Words in the Mother Tongue Poems by Irena Klepfisz Inhospitable Soil

A Few Words in the Mother Tongue Poems by Irena Klepfisz Edges

A Few Words in the Mother Tongue Poems by Irena Klepfisz August 1982

A Few Words in the Mother Tongue Poems by Irena Klepfisz About the Author

Gabi and Irena, Children

Irena Kinder-Ring Camp Photo, Summer 1949

Lesbian/Gay Yiddishists at Pride March

Mical Klepfisz's Photo for Polytechnic School, About 18

Dreams of an Insomniac/Jewish Feminist Essays, Speeches and Diatribes cover

Periods of Stress by Irena Klepfisz cover, first book self published

Keeper of Accounts by Irena Klepfisz Cover

The Tribe of Dina Anthology Original Publication as Issue of Sinister Wisdom 1986

-Found Treasures/Stories By Yiddish Women Writers

idiszer Zoo, Artist Eva Gordon, Tri-lingual Children's Book

Photo of Judy, Irena's Mother, Irena

Gabi, Toddler in a Lifesaver

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About the Wexler Oral History Project

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My Jewish, Lesbian Experience of Second Wave Feminism and Yiddish Activism

Irena Klepfisz, lesbian poet and writer, reflects on how the intersections of her identity, as a Jewish, Yiddish-speaking, Lesbian, and feminist, has influenced her role in Yiddish culture and Jewish feminist poetry.