Description: Scholarship on the civilization of Polish Jews has tended to focus on elite culture and canonical literature. Even modern Yiddish culture has generally been approached from the perspective of 'great works'. This special issue on Jewish popular culture focuses on relatively less explored but historically vital forms of culture that have previously been relegated to the margins of scholarly interest. Most of the articles look at the period before the Second World War, but there are also several studies of the traces of this culture in the contemporary world. The volume is intended to help reconfigure our understanding of Polish Jewish civilization in its true richness and variety.
Brief description: Michael C. Steinlauf is Associate Professor of History at Gratz College, Pennsylvania.
Review Quotes: 'This massive volume is a pioneering step in the study of popular Jewish culture in Poland ... a fascinating collection.' Shulamith Z. Berger, AJL Newsletter 'Without a doubt, an important contribution to the study of the folk and popular culture of Polish Jewry ... Such an important collection of articles ... must be read from cover to cover.' Itzik Gottesman, Forverts