I have always loved Chaim Grade’s books – although I have only read them in translation. The Jewish Review of Books had a piece this month by Curt Leviant, one of his translators. Enjoy!
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Translating and Remembering Chaim Grade
by CURT LEVIANT
This past year marked the 100th anniversary of the birth of one of Vilna’s greatest sons, the Yiddish poet and novelist, Chaim Grade. Born in Vilna in 1910, Grade died in New York as an old man, at the relatively young age of 72.
I translated three of Grade’s most important books. In doing so, I came to understand that this actually required knowledge of four languages: not only Yiddish and English, but also Hebrew and Jewish. By Jewish I mean knowledge of the cycle of Jewish life from birth and bris through bar mitzvah, wedding, and end of life; the Shabbes and the calendar of Jewish holidays; a familiarity with Jewish liturgy, ritual, and customs; and a working knowledge of some of the basic texts of Yiddishkeyt.