Shirley Kumove    is a writer and  translator     on the subject of Yiddish     — folklore, literature and  the art of translation. She is at work preparing her memoirs for publication.

photo: Alex Page

Books by  Shirley Kumove

Magazine & Journal Articles

Speeches

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News: Shirley Kumove will be giving two talks in Tel Aviv, Israel: *.  Friday, March 18, 2011 at 11:00 a.m. at Beit Leivik.      Talk in Yiddish on poet Anna Margolin. *.  Wednesday, March 30, 2011 at 11:00 a.m. sponsored      by the Association of Americans and Canadians in Israel.      Talk in English on Yiddish Folk Sayings.  *  Ordinary Jews (Yidn fun a gants yor) by Yehoshue Perle     in a translation by Shirley Kumove, published by     SUNY Press, Albany, NY, Spring, 2011. Books: * Ordinary Jews (Yidn fun a gants yor) by Yehoshue Perle, translated and introduced by  Shirley Kumove,   published by SUNY Press, Albany, NY, Spring, 2011. * Drunk From the Bitter Truth: The Poems of  Anna Margolin , bilingual edition, translated, ediited and introduced by Shirley Kumove, published by SUNY Press, Albany, N.Y. finalist in the National Jewish Book Award for Poetry, 2007. Awarded the Helen and Stan Vine Canadian Jewish Book Award for Yiddish/Yiddish Translation for 2007. * More Words, More Arrows, A Further Collection of Yiddish Folk Sayings, bilingual edition, published by Wayne State University Press, Detroit, 1999. * Words Like Arrows, A Collection of Yiddish Folk Sayings, bilingual edition, published by University of Toronto Press, 1984. (out of print. Inquire at Amazon.com) * Paperback edition: Warner Books, NY 1986. * German edition: Ehrlich ist beschwerlich: Jiddische Spruchweisheiten published by Volk un Welt, Berlin, 1992.    * Found Treasures, Stories by Yiddish Women Writers. Shirley Kumove contributing translator. Published by Second Story Press, Toronto, 1994. Comments: "Shirley Kumove has done Jewish letters an amazing service in her fine renditions, and wonderfully presented biographical and bibliographic material. Highly recommended."                     — J.C., Jewish Book World, National Jewish Book Council,  New York, Spring, 2006   Magazine & Journal Articles  Articles and translations about Anna Margolin have appeared in            Writ Magazine, Toronto 1995;              Prism International, Vancouver, 1996;             Two Lines, San Francisco 1997;            Metamorphoses, Amherst, MA 1997;            From Memory to Transformation, Jewish Women's Voices, Toronto 1998;            Parchment, Toronto 2001;             Five Fingers Review, San Francisco, 2002 Columnist for the Paken Treger, quarterly magazine of the National Yiddish Book Center, Amherst, MA 1997-2003.   Back to the top Speeches Topics include:  • A Little Salt, A Little Pepper: About Yiddish Folk Sayings. • Talking Among Ourselves: Further Discussion About Yiddish Folk    Sayings. • Catching Arrows: Translating Yiddish Folk Sayings. • Drunk From the Bitter Truth: The Life, Times and Poetry of Anna    Margolin. * Ordinary Jews: The Life and Times of Author Yehoshue Perle and his Novel. In Yiddish: * Shiker fun bitern emes: di poemes fun Anna Margolin. *  Yidn fun a gants yor, a bahandlung.  Shirley Kumove has spoken at: • Conferences of The American Literary Translators Association (ALTA)    of which she is a member; •  Toronto Jewish Book Fair, 1984, 1999, 2005 • The Jewish Historical Society of Canada; • The National Conference on Yiddish; • The Jewish Women’s Voices Conference; • The Precious Legacy Exhibit of Czechoslovakia at the    Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) in Toronto; • Students in the Uriel Weinreich Program in Yiddish Literature and    Culture at Columbia University in New York; • Students in the Yiddish Program at the University of Toronto. • Conference on "Yiddish After the Holocaust" at Oxford University; • Various groups in Toronto, the United States and Israel, in both English    and Yiddish. In Yiddish: *  Yiddisher kultur gezelshaft, Toronto. Back to the top Reviews  and  Comments     About Drunk From the Bitter Truth: The Poems of Anna Margolin: "This astounding bilingual edition presents Margolin complete for the first time in English. Translator, editor and introducer Shirley Kumove has done Jewish letters an amazing service in her fine renditions, and wonderfully presented biographical and bibliographic material. Highly recommended."                 — J.C., Jewish Book World, National Jewish Book Council,               New York, Spring, 2006          "Shirley Kumove's assiduous research, profound knowledge of Yiddish, and poetic sensibilities combine to make this a valuable and desirable contribution to the library of translated texts."           — Barbara Harshav,co-translator of American Yiddish Poetry:                A Bilingual Anthology "This bilingual edition makes available an important body of Yiddish poetry by a major author whose concerns remain relevant today."  — Ken Frieden, editor and cotranslator of Classic Yiddish Stories  of S. Y. Abramovitch, Sholem Aleichem and Peretz. "Drunk From the Bitter Truth is a welcome addition to the growing body of Yiddish Literature published bilingually. All nuances of Margolin's complex poetry are reflected in Kumove's precise, coherent and eloquent translation."           — Anna Shternshis, University of Toronto. "... the translations read beautifully. I will use it in my teaching as I do your other books. Great work!        — Ellie Kellman, Brandeis University. "...Shirley Kumove offers a sensuous escape into the brilliance of Anna Margolin's talent."  — Heidi Busch, Der Bay,            The International Anglo-Yiddish Newsletter. About Words Like Arrows and More Words, More Arrows: “All honour to the author and publisher for this delightful addition to my shelf of books of enduring Jewish interest.”           — Bernard Baskin Canadian Jewish News . “Shirley Kumove is to be congratulated for providing us with such a well-presented and entertaining collection.”           — Enoch Padolsky, The Ottawa Citizen . “The most comprehensive collection ever assembled for an English-speaking audience.”            — The Vancouver Bulletin . “This fascinating collection of folk wisdom and lore, this rich melange... A handsome book for browsing, it includes an impressive and scholarly bibliography.”            — Canadian Book Review Annual. “Ms. Kumove’s new collection... is an excellent one.”           — Philologus The Forward. “Shirley Kumove’s new collection of Yiddish proverbs sparkles with wit and seykhl. Like her first collection, it is a goldmine... making it accessible to readers at any level of Yiddish literacy.”           — Ellie Kellman, Brandeis University> “An entertaining anthology of bon mots, maxims and proverbs that shed a great deal of light on Jewish life in Eastern Europe and in the new world.”            — Jerusalem Post Magazine. ***** Rating based on comments by  purchasers, Amazon.com. Contact me: Shirley Kumove 41 Marbury Crescent Toronto, ON  M3A 2G3 Telephone   416 444-1333  Email shirley@shirleykumove.com Back to the top Back to the top Awards •  Multicultural Department, Secretary of State, Goverment of Canada, Publication Award      for Words Like Arrows •   Travel grant from the Canada Council to promote Words Like Arrows, 1984 •   Ontario Arts Council award for Words Like Arrows, 1984 •   Drunk from the Bitter Truth: the Poems of Anna Margolin wins the  2007 Helen and Stan Vine Canadian      Jewish Book Award for Yiddish/Yiddish translation, 2007. •    Drunk from the Bitter Truth: the Poems of Anna Margolin wins runner-up in the National        Jewish Book Award for Poetry, 2007