Accessing the Yiddish Word
11:00 am | Seminar Room
Jewish Arts and Bookfest
Sunday, May 3, 2026
at UC Berkeley’s Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life, 2121 Allston Way, Berkeley, CA
This multidisciplinary panel brings together literary translators Tamara Helfer and Benjamin Lerman with “visual translator” and graphic designer Tyler Kliem to discuss their recent works. Their discussion will shed light on the concerns of preserving, renewing, and extending the written and visual Yiddish word. Together, their transmission of Yiddish cultural ideas and visual symbols spans work from the late 19th century through to contemporary innovations in literature and typography. Tamara will discuss The Winding Road: My Childhood Years (Syracuse University Press), her translation of the fictionalized childhood memoir by Rokhl Feygenberg, one of the first professional Yiddish women writers. Benjamin will discuss Intimate Portraits, his translation of a collection of historic, mythic and folkloric short stories by Itzik Manger, one of the most celebrated Yiddish poets of the 20th century. Tyler will discuss the contemporary Yiddish printing and typographic projects of artists and designers, including his own, between letterpress art and digital font design.