Yiddish Genesis by Richard Fein

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Yiddish Genesis Yiddish Genesis is a chronological collection of personal essays from 1968 to 2010, exploring Fein's deep connection to Yiddish and the Book of Genesis. These essay s reflect his lifelong obsessions, tracing back to childhood, and reveal how he claims these themes through his writing. Author's introduction: "This book stems from obsessions rooted in my childhood that reappear in adulthood. When obsessions find a voice, they shape experience. I explore Yiddish and Genesis by entering and re-entering these materials, allowing them to claim me as my poetry does." Much of the book addresses translation, which Fein views not as a side task but as a vital part of his poetic development—a form of second birth. These essays engage with Jewish literature that has long influenced him, serving as a means of self-understanding through decades of reflection. To borrow a Chagallian image, he observes "the horse that eyes me" in his village of memory and reading, symbolizing the ongoing dialogue between past and present. Show more