The I. L. Peretz Reader

Isaae Leybush Peretz (1852 1915) is one of the most influential figures of modern Jewish culture. Born in Poland and dedicated to Yiddish culture, he recognized that Jews needed to adapt to their times while preserving their cultural heritage, and his captivating and beautiful writings explore the complevities inherent in the struggle between tradition and the desire for progress. This book, which presents a memoir, poem, travelogue, and twenty-six stories by Peretz, also provides a detailed essay about Peretz's life by Ruth R. Wisse. This edition of the book includes as well Peretz's great visionary drama 1 Vight in the Old Marketplace, in a rhymed, performable translation by Hillel Halkin. Book jacket.

Ruth R. Wisse is professor of Yiddish Literature and of Comparative Literature at Harvard University