We’re still here!
We are not closing, merely going forward without an office, library, or archives (indeed our next event is this August 12th). However, we lost a steady funding stream of $45K annually. By giving up the office space we save about $18K, but the remaining $27K is a substantial hit for a small organization with an annual budget under $100K. We need help. We are concentrating on actions that lead to further possibilities for the organization. Do you – or does anyone you know – have an interest and the possibility to help us a bit financially going forward with publication of Yiddish materials (including Isaac Bashevis Singer as well as contemporary authors), presentation of live Yiddish performances, and memorials for events in Yiddish history? A small Yiddish organization has a tough row to hoe these days. Closing up entirely would be easy, but we feel our mission and unique approach are vital and need partners in these undertakings.
Support Yiddish Culture שפּאַן זיך אײַן אין דער אַרבעט
Your donation will help us
- Publish new works in Yiddish and English (including unpublished works of I.B. Singer!)
- Produce monthly coffee houses celebrating Yiddish folksong and poetry
- Field innumerable questions about Yiddish from all over the world (go ahead, write us with your own!)
Our Mission די עובֿדא
We are a home and resource for some of the finest writers, poets, translators, composers, and performers working in the field of Yiddish today. We cultivate the language in all of its manifestations: spoken, printed, sung, or acted. We publish Yiddish and English books; present concerts, plays and Purim-shpiln; run classes and literary reading circles; field Yiddish-related questions; we can guide you in finding materials for your reading circle or research, provide your synagogue or community center with Yiddish programming, and, yes, we can even translate the writing on the back of your grandmother’s photographs.
Vos se hert zikh… (What we’re up to)
August 12, 2014: Memorial for the Yiddish poets murdered in the Soviet Union. This year, soprano Sofie Van Lier from Amsterdam will present a concert of Soviet Jewish music including Weinberg’s cycle of settings for the poetry of Shmuel Halkin and Shostakovich’s settings of Jewish folk poetry. Tuesday, August 12th at 6:30 PM at the YIVO, Center for Jewish History, 15 West 16th Street. Email us for details at kongres at earthlink dot net
Closing of our offices: need a Yiddish book or two? Email us at kongres at earthlink dot net!
Hear a brand NEW Yiddish song!
Biographical Dicitionary of Yiddish Writers in the Soviet Union
Remember Yiddish poet Yonia Fain
Profile of Congress director Shane Baker in Haaretz
Phone: 1-212/505-8040
email: kongres@earthlink.net