Presented by The Workers Circle

Intermediate Literature with Annie Cohen: Chaver Paver’s Labzik – stories of a militant puppy

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Thursday, 2:00 – 3:30 PM ET: Feb. 19, 26, Mar. 5, 12, 19, 26, Apr. 16, 23, 30, May 7

In this class we will read Chaver Paver's children's book Labzik – a 1930s story of a New York puppy who is adopted by a working-class Jewish Communist family. Taught by Annie Cohen, a researcher of the Jewish Communist movement and contributor to a new book on the history of the International Workers Order, this course will provide a background history of the movement that Labzik and his family were part of, using Yiddish archival materials that we will also read together. The course will also feature two special guests: Miriam Udel will join us to talk about translating Labzik into English, and Yankl (Jake) Krakovsky will teach two sessions (in Yiddish) looking at the way the author writes about race and racism. The final class will be a screening of Yankl and Miriam's puppet-film, which adapts four of the twelve Labzik stories. The course is a continuation of the fall semester, and will start with the second part of the book, but new students are more than welcome. We will do a recap of the first part of the story during the first class. Designed for intermediate Yiddish speakers, this course will be taught in slow Yiddish, with translations into English when needed. We will study new vocabulary and topics in Yiddish grammar as they come up each week. All materials will be provided by the instructor.

Thursday, 2:00 – 3:30 PM ET: Feb. 19, 26, Mar. 5, 12, 19, 26, Apr. 16, 23, 30, May 7

In this class we will read Chaver Paver's children's book Labzik – a 1930s story of a New York puppy who is adopted by a working-class Jewish Communist family. Taught by Annie Cohen, a researcher of the Jewish Communist movement and contributor to a new book on the history of the International Workers Order, this course will provide a background history of the movement that Labzik and his family were part of, using Yiddish archival materials that we will also read together. The course will also feature two special guests: Miriam Udel will join us to talk about translating Labzik into English, and Yankl (Jake) Krakovsky will teach two sessions (in Yiddish) looking at the way the author writes about race and racism. The final class will be a screening of Yankl and Miriam's puppet-film, which adapts four of the twelve Labzik stories. The course is a continuation of the fall semester, and will start with the second part of the book, but new students are more than welcome. We will do a recap of the first part of the story during the first class. Designed for intermediate Yiddish speakers, this course will be taught in slow Yiddish, with translations into English when needed. We will study new vocabulary and topics in Yiddish grammar as they come up each week. All materials will be provided by the instructor.