Yale Bulletin and Calendar

May 5, 2000

Volume 28, Number 31

Sholem Asch

Event examines life, work of
controversial Yiddish writer

Yiddish author Sholem Asch, who was both admired and reviled in his lifetime, will be the focus of an international conference hosted by Yale Saturday-Monday, May 13-15.

"Sholem Asch Reconsidered" will analyze the life and work of the controversial Yiddish writer. The conference is free and open to the public. No prior registration is necessary.

One of the best-known Yiddish authors of the first half of the 20th century, Asch was the first to gain a mainstream readership in translation. But when he proposed that Christianity was a form of Judaism and expressed that belief in a trilogy of novels published during and just after the Holocaust, his readers deserted him and his works slipped into obscurity.

Though Asch still generates strong emotional reactions, his ecumenical attitude is generally accepted today, according to Nanette Stahl, Judaica curator at the Sterling Memorial Library and conference director. The conference, she says, will take a fresh look at the man, his extensive literary output and the cultural and political controversies that engulfed him.

Asch (1880-1957) was born in Poland and lived in the United States, France, Israel and England. His most popular novels were "Three Cities," depicting the shattering effect of the Bolshevik revolution on the Jewish communities of eastern Europe; "East River," about the immigrant Jewish experience in New York City; and the trilogy on the origins of Christianity: "The Nazarene" (1939), "The Apostle" (1943) and "Mary" (1949).

Asch had close ties to Yale. While in the United States, he lived for a time in Stamford, Connecticut, and did research for his novels in the Yale library. He felt a great affinity for Yale and decided that was where he wanted his collection of rare books and manuscripts to go. This became possible through the generosity of Louis M. Rabinowitz, who purchased Asch's collection and presented it to the University. Yale also received several manuscripts of Asch's writings. The Asch Collection is housed in the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.

Conference highlights

The conference will begin on Saturday with a performance of "The People vs. the God of Vengeance" at 8 p.m. at the Yale Repertory Theater, corner of Chapel and York streets (see related story, below). Asch's 1923 play, "God of Vengeance," dealing with prostitution and lesbianism, was banned from the Broadway stage and the cast and producer were jailed. "The People vs. the God of Vengeance," written and directed by School of Drama student Rebecca Taichman, dramatizes the infamous obscenity trial that followed the closing of the original production and intersperses scenes from Asch's banned play. Immediately following the performance, Taichman and Alisa Solomon, a teacher at City University of New York and drama critic for the Village Voice, will discuss the play. A post-play reception, which is free and open to the public, will take place at 10:30 p.m. at the Slifka Center for Jewish Life at Yale, 80 Wall St.

Leading scholars in the field of Yiddish literature from the United States and abroad will participate in the sessions and discussions that will take place on Sunday, 9:30 a.m-6:30 p.m., and Monday, 9:00 a.m.noon, in the Whitney Humanities Center, 53 Wall St.

The keynote speaker will be Dan Miron, a faculty member at both Columbia University and the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. His talk, titled "Mimesis, Faith and the New Deal: Sholem Asch's 'East River,' a Major American/Jewish Novel," will be presented on Sunday at 9 p.m. in the Slifka Center for Jewish Life at Yale.

Asch's great-grandson, David Mazower, will deliver a slide lecture about the author and his life on Sunday at 1 p.m. Other speakers include Joel Berkowitz of the Oxford Center for Yiddish Studies, David Roskies of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America and Seth Wolitz of the University of Texas at Austin. Yale participants, in addition to Taichman, are faculty members Paula Hyman, Matthew Frye Jacobson, Joseph Roach and Edward Stankiewicz.

Coinciding exhibits

In conjunction with the conference, Yale will mount two exhibitions. Sterling Memorial Library will display treasures from Sholem Asch's personal collection of rare Judaica throughout the month of May. Illuminated manuscripts, early Hebrew printed works, hand-written and decorated marriage contracts and 18th-century scrolls of the Book of Esther are among the items that will be on view. Asch's own manuscripts will be displayed at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.

For further information, visit the conference web site at http://www.library.yale.edu/judaica/asch or call Nanette Stahl at (203) 432-7202.

-- By Gila Reinstein

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