Yiddish South of the Border: An Anthology of Latin American Yiddish Writing, edited by Alan Astroro

Yiddish Literature in Translation Edited by Alan Astro with an Introduction by Ilan Stavans Alan Astro has compiled the first anthology of Latin American Yiddish writings translated into English. Included are works of fiction, poetry, and nonfiction from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Uruguay, and Cuba, with one brief memoir by a Russian rabbi who arrived in San Antonio, Texas, in 1910. Literature has always served as a refuge for Yiddish speakers, and the Yiddish literature of Latin America reflects the writers' assertions of their political rights. Stories depicting working-class life in Buenos Aires are reminiscent of the work of New York writers like Abraham Cahan (founder of Jewish Daily Forward) or Henry Roth (author of Call It Sleep). Yiddish South of the Border features a fascinating assortment of peddlers and moneylenders. The central figure in "Jésus," by Pinkhes Berniker, is a rabbi in Cuba who makes a fortune selling Catholic icons because his beard reminds the peasants